Racism 2.0 in a High School Classroom: an Autoethnography

Utah Valley University
Racism 2.0 in a High School Classroom:
an Autoethnography
A proposal submitted in partial satisfaction
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Education
in
English as a Second Language
by
Kyle J. Nelson
February 2013Abstract
Many people recognize racism only in individual acts, not as a system of advantage based on race. This new understanding of racism has been coined Racism 2.0 (Wise, 2008). Similar to Critical Race Theory, which is the intersection of race and power, Racism 2.0 is more difficult to recognize than Racism 1.0, which includes individual acts such as racial insults and prejudicial beliefs. Since Racism 2.0 is more difficult to recognize, people may believe it is a problem of the past. This qualitative project examines the implementation of Racism 2.0 concepts in a high school English class. The study includes many voices, including the White teacher and the predominantly White students, as they grapple with this difficult material. Data were gathered through journal entries, surveys, and observations. The reactions to the material were varied, with some students showing remarkable insight and others displaying common resistance to the material. Much of the existing research concerning Racism 2.0 material takes place in higher education, with college professors and college students. This study addresses the possibility of introducing Racism 2.0 concepts in a high school classroom, in order to better prepare students to encounter this material in the future.4
Contents
Chapter One Introduction ...................................................................................................... 5
Problem ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Purpose ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Research Questions........................................................................................................................... 7
Overview of Methodology ................................................................................................................ 7
Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................................ 8
Chapter Two Literature Review ....................................................................................... 10
Introduction to Diversity Education ......................................................................................... 10
Beyond Diversity Education ........................................................................................................ 11
Racism 2.0 ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Importance of Racism 2.0 Education ........................................................................................ 13
Student Reaction to Racism 2.0 Material ................................................................................ 15
Teacher Implementation of Racism 2.0 Material ................................................................. 15
Future of Multicultural Education and Racism 2.0 .............................................................. 18
Chapter Three Methodology .............................................................................................. 19
Research Perspective ..................................................................................................................... 19
What is Autoethnography? ........................................................................................................... 19
Context ................................................................................................................................................ 20
Participants ...................................................................................................................................... 21
Data Collection ................................................................................................................................. 21
Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................... 23
Chapter Four Results ........................................................................................................... 24
Analyzing Data for an Autoethnography ................................................................................. 24
Is Racism Still a Problem? ............................................................................................................. 25
How Do Students Define Racism? .............................................................................................. 26
Summary of Lessons, Activities, and Reactions .................................................................... 27
Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 33
Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 34
Chapter Five Discussion ..................................................................................................... 35
Introducing the Material ............................................................................................................... 35
The Students ..................................................................................................................................... 36
The Teacher ...................................................................................................................................... 36
Implications for Teaching ............................................................................................................. 37
Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 39
Recommendations for Further Research ................................................................................ 40
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 41
References ............................................................................................................................... 42 Chapter One Introduction
"Some people are born on third base and
go through life thinking they hit a triple."
-Barry Switzer (College Football Coach)
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America declared that all men are created equal and that all men should have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This ideology, first introduced by Thomas Jefferson in the late 1700’s, has since been coined as a meritocracy (Nicholson, 2003), which is defined as "a system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement" (Merriam-Webster.com). Numerous researchers have challenged this ideal of a meritocracy in the United States (McIntosh, 1988; McNamee & Miller, 2004; Pappas & Tremblay, 2010; Souto-Manning, 2011; Liu, 2011).
Souto-Manning (2011), for example, argues that power and privilege must be addressed when considering the concept of a meritocracy. It is not that these researchers do not believe in merit, but rather that people's accomplishments are not always entirely tied to their talents or abilities. Race, social class, and gender are some factors to consider. Power and privilege are other factors at play, and are manifest in a myriad of ways. The saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know" illustrates one example of how power and privilege can supersede merit or ability.
Problem
Not every race has equal access to power and privilege in American society. Although the Civil Rights Movement was over 40 years ago, the fight for equality is not over. Racial inequality still plagues America, evidenced by inequities in employment, 6
education, health care, criminal justice, and housing (Wise, 2009). For example, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that in 2009 the median income for Blacks ($38,409) was roughly 60% that of Whites ($62,545).
This problem is compounded if people do not recognize these inequities as manifestations of racism. American schools teach the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, but leave many students believing that racism is over (Loewen, 1995).
Tim Wise, one of the most prominent antiracist voices in the United States (recipient of the 2008 Oliver L. Brown Distinguished Visiting Scholar for Diversity Issues), reminds us that racism is not over, and that inequalities continue to affect persons of color (Wise, 2009). Part of the problem is that many people recognize racism only in individual acts, not as a system of advantage based on race. There must be a distinction between the terms prejudice and racism, since many people use these terms interchangeably (Tatum, 1997).
Purpose
Celebrating diversity is not enough. Ford and Quinn (2010) report that many schools have tried to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, for example, yet this superficial observance has become a “bastardization of multicultural education” (p. 21). Multicultural education is more than appreciating diversity and other cultures through the discussion of holidays, foods, and customs. It must also include the examination of power, privilege, and racism, otherwise known as Racism 2.0 (Wise, 2009).
This examination is typically introduced in a college setting (St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010). There is little research supporting the introduction of these concepts in a high school classroom. The purpose of this study will be to examine my own 7
classroom, both myself as the teacher and my students, as I introduce the study of Racism 2.0 to high school students.
Research Questions
As I introduce the concept of Racism 2.0 and related lesson materials in my high school classroom, I will observe my students’ reactions to the material and compare their reactions to those of college students described in existing literature. I will also compare my own experience to the experiences of college professors and researchers in the literature. The questions I will be addressing in this project are:
1. How do the demographics (age, race, and socio-economic status) of both the teacher and the students impact the teaching and learning of Racism 2.0?
2. What are some ways for a White teacher to engage in meaningful discussions about race with White high school students?
3. How can my experience teaching Racism 2.0 inform other educators interested in teaching this content?
Overview of Methodology
This autoethnographic study will examine the implementation of Racism 2.0 material both from the teacher's perspective and the students’ perspectives. This study will include multiple voices in an attempt to capture an accurate account of the inclusion of Racism 2.0 material. I will conduct the research at a large high school in the Western United States. The participants will include myself as the teacher, and 10th grade students in four different English classes. We will study Monster by Walter Dean Myers, a contemporary novel about a young, Black man on trial for murder. I have chosen this novel due to my past experience teaching the book. It is one that has been approved by 8
the school and the district in which I teach. The novel will be used as an entry point into the introduction of Racism 2.0, since it contains issues such as race, prejudice, and equality.
I will keep a detailed journal during the teaching of the material, and will write my own observations and impressions. In addition to my voice, the research will involve collecting student voices from class discussions, online surveys, and student writing journals.
Definition of Terms
Many of the terms used in multicultural education are used in different ways. Terms such as racism and prejudice are often used interchangeably. However, there are specific distinctions to be made between those terms and other terms used in multicultural education. The following is a list of some important terms and how I will be using them in this study:
Race: A distinction given to different colors of people based on how they are perceived in social circles. Race is a social construct, with most scientists rejecting the notion that race is a biological or genetic construct (Wise, 2009, p. 13).
White: "A person, typically, of European descent and capable of being viewed as a member of the dominant racial group in the United States" (Wise, 2009, p. 14).
Black: "A person, typically, of African descent, dark enough to be considered a member of that group that was historically at the bottom (along with indigenous persons) of the nation's racial hierarchy" (Wise, 2009, p. 14).9
Person of Color: Anyone who is not viewed as a member of the dominant racial group in the United States. “To be a person of color is simply to be anything other than White, in the eyes of most Americans” (Wise, 2009, p. 14).
Racism: Many people recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness (McIntosh, 1988). This definition is closer to prejudice, however. Racism, when one factors in power, privilege, and opportunity, has more specifically been defined as a system of advantage based on race (Wellman, 1977; McIntosh, 1988; Tatum, 1992; Wise, 2009).
White Privilege: Invisible package of unearned benefits experienced every day byWhite Americans (McIntosh, 1988). Some examples are the ability to shop without being followed, being sure a police officer has not singled you out because of your race, and finding flesh-color bandages to match your skin. In other words, if persons of color are often at a disadvantage (see Racism), then White people are left with the advantage.
Prejudice: Prejudgment. Individual bias. Not to be confused with Racism, and not necessarily limited to race.
Diversity: Many colleges have a diversity requirement, which has resulted in diversity being a study or celebration of ethnic and cultural differences, such as food, clothing, or important figures of history. Traditionally, diversity classes have not addressed the issues of power and equity (Pimentel, 2010).
Meritocracy: A system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement.10
Chapter Two Literature Review
This section will provide a brief history of multicultural education in the United States, highlighting how the emphasis has shifted from celebrating diversity to addressing issues such as race, power, and privilege. Nearly every study takes place in a college setting, with the content being introduced to college students by a college professor. I will introduce and define Racism 2.0, and will provide a rationale for the inclusion of this material in education, specifically in secondary education. Finally, I will share student and teacher perspectives of Racism 2.0 based on the literature, and then make suggestions for the future of multicultural education.
Introduction to Diversity Education
In the first 200 years of America's history, there is little documented diversity education. Race and diversity education emerged on college campuses in the 1960s and 1970s, responding to the absence of perspectives of people in color in academia (St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010). Traditionally, teachers and students did not discuss race in the classroom, and diversity education was nonexistent. Only within the last 25 years have teacher education programs included diversity curriculum for future educators (Ford & Quinn, 2010).
St. Clair and Kishimoto (2010) report that almost 60% of higher education institutions require students take at least one course addressing diversity. These courses often serve as an investigation into “other” cultures, such as the inclusion of ethnic authors to counter the “overwhelmingly White male authors read in the previous decades” (Landt, 2007). Though this approach has been a step in the right direction, 11
encountering a month of diversity or a chapter on multicultural literature reinforces the position of “other” and that these “others” are merely deviations from the standard (Landt, 2007).
The celebration of diversity alone fails to examine the inequitable outcomes that exist in American society (Pimentel, 2010). More educational support is needed, considering the scarce number of programs designed to fully analyze the systemic and individual treatment of diverse cultures, races, or ethnicities (Ford & Quinn, 2010).
Beyond Diversity Education
Celebrating diversity is not enough to produce equitable results in American society, or at least an honest examination of the inequitable results. Ford and Quinn (2010) report that many schools have tried to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, for example, yet this superficial observance has become a “bastardization of multicultural education” (p. 21). Multicultural education should be more than appreciating diversity and other cultures through the discussion of holidays, foods, and customs. It must also include the examination of power, privilege, and racism. Tolerance and acceptance are important steps, but they alone will not lead to fairness and equity. Current researchers and practitioners urge schools to go beyond diversity education "to address the more uncomfortable issues of power and equity- namely racism" (Pimentel, 2010, p. 51). Racism in this context is defined not by individual actions or behavior, but as a "system of advantage based on race" (Tatum, 1992).
Denevi and Pastan (2006) warn that even students who participate in diversity clubs, which one would think would go beyond traditional diversity education, can still escape confronting the systemic issues of power and privilege. If the objective is to 12
increase education in order to ensure that all people, regardless of race, receive the same opportunities (Heinze, 2008), then schools must go beyond traditional diversity education that merely celebrates or explores other cultures, races, or ethnicities.
Racism 2.0
Numerous researchers advocate the need for schools to address these issues of race, racism, power, discrimination, equity, and privilege (McIntosh, 1988; Tatum, 1992; Lawrence & Tatum, 1998; Heinze, 2008). Many of these terms have been used interchangeably. Wise (2009) captures the intersection of these issues in American society with the term Racism 2.0.
Racism 1.0 is identifiable as "old-fashioned bigotry," something America is familiar with, allowing Americans to know it when they see it (Wise, 2009). Racism 2.0, however, is much more difficult to recognize. This might explain why schools have traditionally focused on celebrations or superficial explorations into other cultures. Heinze (2008) claims that this less recognizable form of racism is more subtle than Racism 1.0, which often manifests itself as overt aggression.
Although racism (both 1.0 and 2.0) affects people of all races, much of the literature focuses on persons of color as the victims of racism. The dominant classification is ‘person of color.’ Racism, therefore, is not simply a Black and White issue. It is an issue involving Whites and persons of color, or anyone who is anything other than White in the eyes of most Americans (Wise, 2009). An integral part of Racism 2.0 is White privilege, described as "an invisible package of unearned assets which [White people] can count on cashing in each day" (McIntosh, 1988). McIntosh, who is white, lists 26 privileges, which range from being able to find “flesh-colored” band-aids 13
that match her skin color, to not being followed while shopping, to the media representing her race in a mostly positive light. White privilege works much the same way male privilege works, with society as a whole taught not to recognize it (McIntosh, 1988). Like other areas of Racism 2.0, White privilege is an “elusive and fugitive” subject, something that must be examined closely to be recognized (McIntosh, 1988).
Importance of Racism 2.0 Education
Just as McIntosh (1988) had to write down the unearned benefits she received in order to recognize them, it is easier for White people to forget that racism is still a problem. These issues of race and privilege must be addressed because racism is still a problem, specifically for persons of color (Wise, 2009). This is evidenced by racial inequities in employment, education, health care, criminal justice, housing, just to name a few, with the studies indicating that these inequities “are due in large measure to discrimination, either past, present, or a combination of the two" (Wise, 2009, p. 18). Even colleges that include discussions on racism as part of their curriculum, typically focus on persons of color as “recipients of racism” and rarely focus on White people as the “recipients of White privilege” (Pimentel, 2010, p. 52).
If schools are to address the issues of race and privilege, students must be required to confront the issues directly. In numerous studies, White college students have claimed to be “colorblind,” allowing them to avoid seeing or discussing racial issues (Ford & Quinn, 2010; Jost, Whitfield, & Jost, 2005). Because they represent the majority, and because they are rarely victims of racism themselves, it is much easier for a White person to avoid thinking about race than it is for a person of color. (Tatum, 1997; Ford & Quinn, 2010). So in an attempt to understand racial inequality, White students try to draw 14
from their own experience. These interpretations of their own experience usually uphold the incorrect belief that society’s rules “apply roughly the same to everyone" (Ford & Quinn, 2010, p. 19-21).
This problem of Whites not understanding the plight of persons of color is compounded when an overview of the teaching workforce is considered. Ford and Quinn (2010) call for more diversity in the teaching workforce, considering that a 2006 report by the National Center for Education Statistics reveals that 84% of teachers in public schools are White (p. 19). Catlin (2008) reports that teachers and students who share race in common have more effective relationships, because teachers have more insight into the student's experiences and students are more willing to reveal more about their own experiences. So until the diversity of teachers is increased, it is important to prepare White teachers with the education necessary to relate to students with different backgrounds than themselves (Ford & Quinn, 2010).
Both White students and students of color will benefit from being taught by teachers with exposure to Racism 2.0 education, since the teachers will be better equipped to relate to their students, whether through shared race or shared understanding (Ford & Quinn, 2010). Those who understand the dynamics of Racism 2.0 are "able to connect with the student of color in a more authentic way that demonstrably affects learning" (Heinze, 2008, p. 6). Ford and Quinn (2008) identify a strong correlation between teacher quality and student achievement, contending that teacher excellence is not just mastery of content and pedagogy, but cultural competence as well. 15
Student Reaction to Racism 2.0 Material
It is important to consider the reactions that college students have to the introduction of these issues of race and power. Several studies of college students (Pimentel, 2010; Heinze, 2008; St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010) reveal how persons of color typically welcome the race talk, whereas some White students begin to show patterns of resistance. Some of the most common forms of resistance among White students are stubbornness, cynicism, and denial. Students also attempt to change the subject, show an unwillingness to do activities, or stop coming to class (Heinze, 2008).
Another study observes students who withdraw from conversations entirely or collude with one another to create “a culture of niceness” (Pimentel, 2010, p. 51). Tatum (1992) reports that when White students discuss racism it often elicits strong feelings of guilt and shame that can be experienced as anger and defensiveness. Students want answers, not questions (Gershon, Bilinovich, & Peel, 2010).
Despite these patterns of resistance to Racism 2.0 material, student learning does take place. While it is difficult to produce empirical data to demonstrate this learning and awareness, "there is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence” that reveals the reactions to the material and suggests that the students studying the Racism 2.0 material are learning (Heinze, 2008, p. 10). For student learning to take place, a secure classroom culture must be created, what Tatum (1992) calls a "safe space," in order for students to feel comfortable enough to explore these difficult, emotional issues.
Teacher Implementation of Racism 2.0 Material
Numerous studies provide examples of what teachers do in their classrooms to present issues such as race, power, and privilege (Denevi & Pastan, 2006; Heinze, 2008; 16
Pimentel, 2010). Several researchers have students list privileges and benefits that White people specifically receive (McIntosh, 1988; Tatum, 1992; Heinze, 2008). One activity, called the Race Game, requires students to use the word 'White' whenever they are describing an encounter with a White person. For example, a student might say, "I was at the supermarket and there was a White cashier who was so friendly" (Heinze, 2008, p. 4). The objective of this activity is for students to recognize that Whiteness is never acknowledged by White people. Heinze (2008) also has students regularly discuss racism and racists early in the semester in order to desensitize students to the terms, thus lessening the chance that they will respond defensively to the material.
Although research urges teachers of Racism 2.0 to create a classroom where students feel comfortable, another study insists on the importance of keeping students "leaning into discomfort and challenging their own thoughts and actions" (Denevi & Pastan, 2006, p. 73). Students and teachers, regardless of race, often feel uncomfortable while talking about race, albeit for different reasons (Gershon, Bilinovich, & Peel, 2010). Teachers may not address these difficult issues because of the discomfort students and teachers may feel, but end up reinforcing the status quo as a consequence (Pimentel, 2010).
Pimentel (2010) advocates for the use of racially charged films as a way to distance the students from the topics discussed. In effort to alleviate student discomfort and make the classroom a safe space, Heinze (2008) uses himself as a model for his college students (p. 6). This includes the teacher being honest about his or her own beliefs and personal biases, which allows students to see the teacher as a real person, "approachable, and most importantly, fallible" (Heinze, 2008, p. 7). This process of self-17
disclosure is easier for White male teachers, compared to a professor of color (or any oppressed group), who has "much more to risk disclosing such personal biases in front of a predominantly White class" (Heinze, 2008, p. 7). Heinze (2008) adds that the more honest and transparent a teacher is, the more likely a student will be to open up and acknowledge what might be considered politically incorrect thoughts (p. 7). Because many students look up to teachers as examples, teachers purposefully acting as models can "affect students beyond the intended lessons they teach" (Landt, 2007, p. 21).
White teachers, who used themselves as models, began with acknowledging their own White privilege and unconscious racism. This is where Racism 2.0 education can begin to make sense, where White students begin to comprehend their own "Whiteness and all of its complex social implications" (Ford & Quinn, 2010, p. 20). This increased awareness of their own privilege leads to a better understanding of institutional racism, and ultimately to a better understanding of the experiences of persons of color (Heinze, 2008, p. 3).
An integral part of Racism 2.0 education is correcting students' beliefs "that the rules of society apply roughly the same to everyone" (Ford & Quinn, 2010, p. 19-21). Another erroneous belief that some students employ is that one is either racist or not, there is no in between (Heinze, 2008, p. 5). This is problematic because it removes any grey area, but also because it primarily looks at racism as an individual act instead of something that exists systemically or institutionally. Numerous researchers call for the distinction between individual and institutional forms of racism, moving away from racism that focuses only on individual acts (Pimentel, 2010; Wise, 2009; Heinze, 2008).18
Future of Multicultural Education and Racism 2.0
The topic of race is truly complex and requires a long-term commitment in order to dismantle the system of racism and White privilege that exists. This begins with individuals unlearning racism and is a process that must continue throughout our lives (Lawrence & Tatum, 1998; Denevi & Pastan, 2006). With all of the diversity programs and meaningful race discussions that college professors are currently leading, the system is not changing (Denevi & Pastan, 2006). This is evidenced by inequities in employment, education, health care, criminal justice, and housing (Wise, 2009). For example, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that in 2009 the median income for Blacks ($38,409) was roughly 60% that of Whites ($62,545). More still needs to be done. Pimentel (2010) hopes that other teachers can build upon the existing knowledge base and create other classroom activities and projects where "students can critically engage the topic of race" (p. 56).
A large gap in the literature exists with the introduction of Racism 2.0 concepts before students get to college. Because unlearning racism is a process, there is a need for continued education after students take a college course dealing with these issues, or the need for an introductory course to prepare them for the information they will encounter in college. Denevi and Pastan (2006) continually encounter White students who have never thought about their own race and privilege, and are then unable to go as far in the material as they want, because it is too big of a jump. Ford and Quinn (2010) implore for a mass of teachers who are competent multicultural educators in order to serve the nation's students a quality education. 19
Chapter Three Methodology
This chapter will detail the methods used in the research process, specifically the participants and the procedures. There will be a brief explanation of the research perspective used, because it is a relatively new type of research.
Research Perspective
This study will be a qualitative autoethnography. In addition to my voice, I will capture student voices through the use of observation, survey questions, and journals. I will be keeping a journal as well, detailing my interactions with the students and my experience presenting the content. The research will be based on my subjective experience, but will also include the reactions and experiences of students in the class. I chose this perspective because I think it will provide the most accurate and honest picture of my classroom as a whole, specifically how the material is presented and received.
When it comes to research, I have my own struggles trying to understand subjectivity and the criticism surrounding the use of first person voice. I chose this genre because of its "capacity to engage first person voice, and to embrace the conflict of writing against oneself as he or she finds himself/herself entrenched in the complications of their positions" (Hughes, 2008). Entering another teacher's classroom as a researcher is not as natural to me as studying my own classroom with the dual role of teacher and researcher.
What is Autoethnography?
If ethnography is the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures, then an autoethnography is when the researcher is part of the culture being 20
observed. The culture in this study is a high school classroom, and being the teacher in that high school classroom, my experience is part of this study. I am not just interested in how the students respond to the material being presented, but in the implementation of the material as well. One of the research questions in this study aims to provide information to other educators thinking of teaching this content in their classes.
Autoethnography is a relatively new research approach, with the first autoethnography published in 1966 (Facing Mt. Kenya by Jomo Kenyatta) in the face of harsh criticism (Hughes, 2008). One criticism of this research perspective is that it is too subjective. Clandinin and Connelly (1994) argue, however, that if a researcher’s voice is omitted from a text, the writing is reduced to a mere summary and interpretation of the works of others, with nothing new added (as cited in Wall, 2006).
Autoethnography varies widely, from the highly introspective, through more familiar approaches connected to qualitative research. Though this research perspective is relatively new, and there is a lack of published pieces, it must be noted that some authors who have pursued autobiographical inquiry have not referred to their written products as autoethnographies, but instead as autobiographies, personal narratives, and case studies.
Context
I am a 4th year English teacher at a large high school in the Western United States. As part of the regular curriculum, we read Monster by Walter Dean Myers. This has been the case each year that I have taught at the school. The book is approved by both the high school and district in which I teach. Monster is a story about a 16-year-old Black male on trial for murder and deals with topics such as race, prejudice, and equality. One example is when a lawyer says to the protagonist that many of the jurors have made up 21
their minds about him even if they are unaware of it. “You’re young, you’re Black, and you’re on trial. What else do they need to know?”
As we read this book, I ask students to write about and discuss issues such as race, inequality, and the American dream. These topics connect with Racism 2.0 and issues of power and privilege. The examination of these concepts lasts about six weeks, as we read the book and complete other activities in class.
Participants
I am a 4th-year English teacher and have taught at the same high school since I earned my teaching degree in 2008. I am a 32-year-old White male and am a member of the dominant religion in the area. I also coach football at the high school.
I will conduct this study at a large suburban high school in the Western United States. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the student population of this high school is 93% White, 2% Hispanic, 2% Asian/Pacific Islander, and less than 1% Black. Only 7% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
I will be teaching four different English classes over a period of six weeks as we read Monster and discuss issues relating to Racism 2.0. Each class will have approximately 30-35 students made up somewhat equally of males and females. One class will be a co-taught class with a mixture of traditional students and students with learning disabilities.
Data Collection
I will combine my voice with the voices of my students to create an accurate depiction of the classroom during this particular unit. To capture my voice, I will keep a 22
detailed, reflective journal capturing my feelings and impressions throughout the unit. The students' voices will be captured through observation, survey questions, and journals.
Observation is key in ethnography research in order to represent individual peoples or cultures. As a teacher, I regularly try to be aware of my students' reactions to material taught in class, but this study will require that I be even more cognizant of their reactions. I will write things down during class and will try to gauge students' understanding of the material through class discussions. My regular journal entries will attempt to capture the classroom environment, including the students and myself as the teacher.
Surveys will be anonymous and will be conducted online. The purpose of doing surveys is to get students' background knowledge and opinions of the content. Throughout the year I use surveys as a teaching tool to gather information, and I will use the results to drive our classroom discussions and writing prompts. Open-ended questions such as "Does racism still exist? Why or why not?" will provide me with items to discuss with the class. These surveys will be anonymous in the hope of getting students to be more honest in their responses, and in getting students to avoid answering questions with politically correct answers or answers they think the teacher wants to hear.
Finally, students will keep journals throughout the unit and I will read these journals looking for reactions to the material presented in class. Throughout the year, students write in their journals on a variety of topics, ranging from childhood memories to favorite movies to opinions on controversial topics. The journals are a big part of the class, with students writing one page every period, sometimes two. I am constantly reinforcing the power of writing, trying to get them to be honest and reflective in the 23
things they write about. Topics such as race, power, and equality should evoke opinions and feelings from the students, which I hope will lead to descriptive writing.
Data Analysis
Most of the data will be qualitative and will be coded thematically. Themes may include but are not limited to discovery (e.g. "I never knew people were pulled over for Driving While Black"), or difficulty (e.g. "I don't like talking about Black people when they're not around"), or inexperience ("I've never thought of this before"). These themes will emerge from classroom discussions, survey questions, or student journals.
With an autoethnography research perspective, there will be multiple voices represented. I will use direct quotes whenever possible, which will emerge from classroom discussions, survey questions, or student journals.
There will be minimal quantitative data pulled from the online surveys. These may include opinions on a 4-point scale, or a number of times a student has heard a racist remark, or the number of times a student has been followed by an employee in a department store. I will use this information to drive classroom discussions, not necessarily to include in the research findings.24
Chapter Four Results
This chapter summarizes the data collected throughout the study. During the unit on Racism 2.0, I included multiple voices to get an accurate picture of my students’ experiences, as well as my own experience. The students' voices were captured through observations, survey questions, and journals. Because an autoethnography includes the researcher’s experience as well, I kept a detailed, reflective journal with my feelings and impressions throughout the two-week unit on Racism 2.0.
In the following sections, I review the findings from the initial student survey in which students defined racism and its importance in 2012. Then I describe the lessons taught in class and how students reacted to them, including resistance to the material. The chapter ends with the limitations of my observations and an overall summary of the data collected. All student names have been changed or omitted.
Analyzing Data for an Autoethnography
I chose the research method of autoethnography because I felt it would provide the most accurate picture of my students’ experiences, as well as my own experience as the teacher. I was interested in my students’ reaction to the Racism 2.0 material, but I also wanted to document my experience as the teacher to add to ongoing research on multicultural education.
The data analysis involved reviewing the students’ responses to an online survey, students’ journal entries, and a one-page written reflection they wrote at the end of the two-week unit on Racism 2.0. I looked for commonalities in the students’ experiences and opinions. I coded student responses, searching for specific lessons or moments that 25
may have evoked each reaction. I searched for quotes that would illustrate how students felt before, during, and after the teaching of the material. I read through my own journal entries that I kept throughout the unit, where I wrote down observations from class and my own thoughts about how the lessons went.
Is Racism Still a Problem?
Before students read Monster, or discussed racism in class, they filled out an online survey. I used this survey to determine how students defined racism, as well as to determine how serious students felt racism was in 2012. I shared the results of the study after we read the book and began discussing Racism 2.0.
Prior to discussing the results of the online survey, the students filled out an anticipation guide to the novel, Monster. The True/False questions were designed to access their background knowledge and get them thinking about some of the themes from the text. They filled out the anticipation guide individually, and then we discussed the answers as a class. It seemed to be very easy for the students to get the “right” answer. For example, students indicated that the statement, “Peer pressure is always negative,” was false and pointed out examples of positive peer pressure. Students correctly said the statement, “People who commit crimes come from broken homes and dysfunctional families,” was false and pointed out that criminals can come from all walks of life. They quickly said the statement, “Writing in a journal is a good way to express feelings,” was true, perhaps because they were in an English class where they kept a journal for a grade. Students said the statement, “Racism and prejudice aren’t very big problems today,” was false and talked about how racism is still around today. 26
However, when asked, “How bad of a problem is racism in 2012?” in the online survey, given a week prior to the anticipation guide, students told a very different story. Most students recognized racism as a “big problem” in the 1950’s and 1960’s, while few recognized racism as a “big problem” in 2012. There were two questions on the online survey that requested students to indicate the seriousness of racism in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and how extensive racism is in 2012. Out of 132 students, 117 (89%) said that racism was a serious problem in the 50’s and 60’s. When asked about the seriousness of racism is in 2012, only 3 students (2%) said that racism was a serious problem. See Figure 1.
Figure 1
How Do Students Define Racism?
In the survey, students were asked to define racism in their own words. After analyzing their responses, I found different words that basically said the same thing. Most students defined racism as “being mean” or “thinking that they’re better” than someone
Minor
Problem
Major
Problem
1950's and 1960's
0
0
3
12
117
2012
19
53
47
10
3
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Number of Students
Is Racism Still a Problem? 27
from another race. They used words like “prejudice,” “discrimination,” and “segregation.” Their responses embody McIntosh’s (1988) claim that most people recognize racism only in individual acts, not as a system of advantage based on race. One student said, “My definition of racism would probably be not treating someone like a person, kind of like an IT. A person is a person and everybody should be treated fairly.”
When asked in the survey to give specific examples of racism, most students produced examples of individual meanness such as jokes, insults, and name calling. Students identified racism in important moments and figures from history, such as slavery, the Holocaust, Emmitt Till, Rosa Parks, and segregation.
Not all students defined racism this way, however. A few students defined racism by mentioning jobs, wealth, education, and opportunity, which are closer to the “system of advantage” written about by McIntosh (1988). One student defined racism as “a separation between white Americans and other skin colors or religions.” While many students recognized racism as obvious acts (Racism 1.0), some students recognized the more subtle manifestations of racism (Racism 2.0), as in the following response:
To me racism is not so much the obvious segregation that used to happen to African-Americans. It’s the little things that happen almost daily like when there are two open seats on the bus and instead of choosing the seat with the African- American, time and time again people sit elsewhere. Little things like that define racism.
Summary of Lessons, Activities, and Reactions
The next five subsections are focused on the lessons taught in class and the students’ reactions to those lessons.28
Racism ends forever.
Landline TV produced a satirical video in 2008 claiming that racism ended when America elected a Black president. The joke in the video is that because racism is over, the KKK has no purpose, and so they became a bird-watching group. I showed the video to open class discussion on whether racism still exists. In each of my four classes, at least one student asked if the video was real. One student acknowledged that the video was fake, but he still did not understand the point of the satire. He said, “Even though it was fake, I disagree with the KKK/Bird Watchers video. There is still racism and there will always be racism.”
As I showed the video, some students appeared reluctant to laugh. Perhaps they did not think it was funny, or perhaps they did not know if it was real. Immediately after the video, I pretended not to know if the video was real and let the class figure it out. It did not take the class long to come to the correct conclusion, however, one student later remarked, “When I saw the bird watching clip about the KKK my first thought was, are people really that naïve?”
Before I showed the video, while students were writing about prejudice and discrimination in their journals, one student turned around and asked me if the KKK was still around. I said yes. I laughed to myself because I knew I would be showing the birdwatching video later in class. One objective of the Racism 2.0 unit was to get students to recognize racism in other ways besides obvious, overt racism (such as the KKK). Numerous students referenced the video in their final reflection, not just for the humor, but for the realization that racism does not disappear overnight.
Students’ reactions to statistics.29
One common response in the reflections was an eye-opening reaction to statistics I shared in class. The statistics, gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau, indicate that Black people are more likely to be poor, less likely to go to college, more likely to be unemployed, and are more likely to be in jail. “The statistics were definitely a ‘wow, holy crap’ moment for me,” one student said. “Especially the statistics for people in jail. They made me wonder why.” Another student said, “Now that we have talked about it [the statistics], it has really opened my eyes to see all of the racism that is going on.”
I gave these statistics at the end of a class period and asked the students to go home and brainstorm some possible explanations for these statistics. The next day they did not have any solid answers (because these are difficult questions), but they did have some interesting ideas. They made correlations between the different statistics and a few suggested that education could fix everything. Their claim was that those who went to college were less likely to be poor, or unemployed, or to end up in jail.
“So why doesn’t everyone just go to college?” I asked. To which one student replied, “Because they’re in jail.” To which another student replied, “Because they were too poor, so they had to steal.” They expected me to have the answers and I told them I did not have them. Nobody said anything about Black people being inherently different or bad or lazy, which one might infer if they were to believe only the disparate statistics.
Do I look suspicious?
There is one concrete example of racism in the book Monster. The protagonist’s lawyer says to him that many of the jurors have made up their minds, even if they are unaware of it. “You’re young, you’re Black, and you’re on trial. What else do they need to know?” We talked about whether or not this means that everyone on the jury is racist. 30
One student said, “They might not be doing it on purpose. He just looks like what they think a criminal would look like.”
This subconscious judgment and unfair treatment is one manifestation of Racism 2.0. To illustrate this manifestation, we read about and discussed Rick Reilly’s article about DWB (Driving While Black), the Trayvon Martin case, a verse from Jay-Z’s 99 Problems, and a TV episode of What Would You Do?, where the show’s producers set up a hidden camera to see how people reacted to two bike thieves (one who is Black and one who is White).
Students enjoyed these real-life examples because they did not just exist in a book we were reading. These examples led to better discussions than the book, statistics, or abstract theories about racism. These examples gave students concrete topics to point to and agree or disagree with. Most students used these examples to support their understanding of Racism 2.0 and its existence today. “I have always known that racism still exists.” She continues, “Learning about racism 2.0 showed me how. Small things, White privilege, and racial profiling. We are more racist than I had previously thought.”
Another student said, “I had always thought of racism as the hoses, and separate bathrooms, and separate drinking fountains and everything else in the sixties. I never realized how bad it still is today.” She continued, however, on a path I had not expected. “Sometimes I think Black people bring it upon themselves. Wearing their gangster clothes and stuff. Maybe if they dressed in nice clothes, and no hats tipped to the side they would get more respect.”
Resistance to the material.31
I noticed many forms of resistance from my students, similar to the resistance mentioned in several different studies involving college students (Pimentel, 2010; Heinze, 2008; St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010). Resistance is not necessarily a negative thing, since I wanted students to wrestle with some of the material. One student was clearly trying to figure things out for herself, as the following quote illustrates:
But when we got into the racism 2.0 stuff, that’s stuff I’ve never thought about or been taught. But I don’t know if I’m sold on it. I’m not sure. I think a lot of people are still racist, but I don’t think everyone is. I think as White people we try so hard not to be racist sometimes. Like if we truly didn’t see color, then why would we treat them any different than White people? Why would we give them special treatment? I defiantly [sic] think racism is still a problem, but I don’t know why teachers beat it into our heads so much.
Several students felt as if the material was attacking White people, which made them angry, defensive, or guilty. One student said, “It’s not just us. We always say how we were so rude to them and still are. But they are rude to us too. That’s what I don’t get.” Another student said that he liked talking about racism 2.0, even though he “didn’t agree with 80 percent of it.” His response:
The way I see it, racism goes both ways and it’s only recognized in one direction. What pisses me off is if I’m applying for college and there is a Black guy with identical qualifications he gets in over me. That’s not equality, that’s racism. I believe in equality.
Many White students talked about their own Whiteness. This often made them ashamed or angry. One student said, “It is so infuriating that people would do that and 32
that since I am also White I could be associated with them. I never want to be like that.” Another student talked about how uncomfortable she was throughout the unit, not because of how she feels about people of color, but how she felt about herself, which is illustrated in the following response:
It’s because my very own race is doing this. It’s my race doing stupid things. I felt almost embarrassed. I felt guilty because I am so privileged. It makes me wonder do colored people think of me as just another White person? Am I just another White?
The classroom as a safe space.
I tried to create what Tatum (1992) calls a "safe space," in order for students to feel comfortable enough to explore these difficult, emotional issues. In their final reflections, many students talked about the classroom and how they felt comfortable. However, there were some who still did not feel comfortable. There were some who disagreed with the Racism 2.0 material in their papers, but never felt comfortable enough to share those feelings in our class discussions. One student said, “I am going to be honest when I say that I did feel uncomfortable at some times while talking about this. But that discomfort has made me stronger.”
As I read the student reflections, I started to feel like students thought if they were uncomfortable, that meant they were racist or something. It sounded like they were afraid to admit if they were uncomfortable. One student said, “There wasn’t any point where I felt uncomfortable. But it was kind of weird, I feel like there were a lot of kids in this class that felt uncomfortable.”33
Jimmy, who is Asian, shared his discomfort when he said, “This unit was a little uncomfortable only because I am part of the minority…it wasn’t like horribly uncomfortable, but it was enough that it was kind of awkward being here while we talked about it.”
Shannon, a White female, thought our discussions could have gone even further when she said:
I feel like we focused so much on the well-known racism. Most kids only have one perspective on these issues. They don’t think about things. We should address things like discrimination against gays, women, etc. It may be awkward to talk about in class, but that’s just because people don’t want to address the discrimination that’s going on today because they are embarrassed.
Limitations
The majority of the data I analyzed came from student writing (surveys, journals, and reflections). I kept a personal journal of my own feelings and impressions and tried to observe students’ behaviors in class. This was more difficult than I expected. When looking for patterns of resistance, it was difficult to determine whether students were acting strange because of the material or because they are teenagers. For instance, several students put their heads down, but high school students frequently put their heads down. It is difficult to determine if students are reacting to the material or if they are just tired or bored.
Most of my journal entries where I noticed student behavior were inconclusive. For example, one series of journal entries was written about Michelle, the only Black girl in my class. “I don’t know if she likes me or not. I can’t tell if she’s offended or 34
disinterested or what.” It was difficult to determine what my students were thinking based on observations alone.
The students’ written responses provided a more accurate reflection of their feelings than my observations did. I could probably imagine the discomfort that a White student who sat in front of a Black student might feel, but it was not until I read his reflection that I knew for sure:
I felt a little bit uncomfortable because I sit next to Michael. Not because he is Black, but because I couldn’t help but to imagine myself in his shoes, how uncomfortable it would be if I was one of only five people of my race at school.
Summary
During the unit on Racism 2.0, I included multiple voices to get an accurate picture of my students’ experiences, as well as my own experience as the teacher. I used a personal journal to capture my feelings and observations throughout the two-week unit, and analyzed students’ responses to survey questions and journal prompts. I summarized students’ definitions of racism and whether or not they believed racism is still a problem. I described the lessons and activities done in class and the students’ reactions to the material, attempting to capture their overall comfort level in the class and any resistance they displayed to the material.35
Chapter Five Discussion
This final chapter includes my interpretation of the results of the study. Within my discussion of the findings, I address the research questions I introduced in chapter one. Also, I relate the findings to the existing literature and I provide recommendations for future teachers interested in introducing Racism 2.0 material to their students. The chapter ends with an acknowledgement of the limitations of the study and recommendations for further research.
Introducing the Material
The results from the online survey fell in line with much of the existing research on multicultural education (McIntosh, 1988; Tatum, 1992; Lawrence & Tatum, 1998; Heinze, 2008). Many students only recognized racism in individual acts, not as a system of advantage based on race. They used the terms prejudice and racism interchangeably. Because their definitions of racism included only obvious, individual acts (Racism 1.0), many students considered racism to be a problem of the past. After we discussed the more subtle manifestations of racism (Racism 2.0), students recognized how prevalent of a problem racism still is in America.
Many students were uncomfortable talking about race in class, specifically their own Whiteness. Students listed benefits and privileges that White people receive and we went through 26 privileges determined by McIntosh (1988). This was the first that many students had heard of White Privilege. After we watched an episode of “What Would You Do?” which gives a visual example of White Privilege, students finally seemed to feel comfortable talking about White Privilege. Also, talking about other examples of 36
privilege (gender, age, religion, sexual orientation) helped students understand the concept.
The Students
My first research question was determining how the demographics of both the teacher and the students impacted the teaching and learning of Racism 2.0. Most of the existing research involves college students as participants (Jost, Whitfield, & Jost, 2005; Denevi & Pastan, 2006; Heinze, 2008; Hughes, 2008; Pimentel, 2010; Ford & Quinn, 2010). I wanted to know if the material could be introduced earlier. Although some of my high school students showed resistance to the material, college students showed resistance to the material as well (Heinze, 2008; Pimentel, 2010; St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010). Many of my high school students showed great insight into anti-racist thinking and showed tremendous understanding of the material. I did not go as deeply into the material as many of the college studies I found, but I do think high school students are ready to be introduced to Racism 2.0 ideas.
Teaching predominantly White students about race is different than teaching a more diverse group of students. It is not any easier necessarily, just different. A class of White students has more of a shared experience with each other, so it is easier to relate to students as a whole. However, fewer students have personal experiences with racism, which makes the existence of racism more abstract in some students’ eyes.
The Teacher
My second research question focused on ways in which a White teacher can engage in meaningful discussions about race with White students. It was important to use myself as a model for my White students. I shared my own frustrations and experiences, 37
which made the students more comfortable as well. I admitted that I am still figuring out things about race, which put me on their level as a learner of this difficult material. I shared my own thoughts of bias and prejudice and did not pretend to be perfect or above racism. I admitted that unlearning racism is a life-long journey that takes years and years to complete.
Teaching about race is typically easier for a White teacher compared to a person of color (Heinze, 2008). In class, we discussed different manifestations of privilege, including race, gender, age, religion, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and ability. We briefly discussed advantages associated with each group and I shared my own information as an example. Because I am generally on the advantaged side of each category (White, male, middle-aged, Christian, middle-class, heterosexual, and able-bodied), I have nothing to gain, so to speak, from fighting against the status quo. Several students asked why I cared so much about race. I imagine that if I were a person of color, they would not ask that question. Perhaps they would just assume that I had my own personal agenda for teaching Racism 2.0 material.
Implications for Teaching
There were two moments that stood out during the unit on Racism 2.0, and both involved students of color. One experience was when my former student, Joe, showed up to share his own racial profiling story in front of the class. The second experience involved Carl, a student from California who joined my class midway through the semester. These experiences lead into my third and final research question, which was figuring out how my experience teaching this material can inform other teachers interested in teaching Racism 2.0 material. These were two of the most powerful 38
experiences during the unit and they will likely not happen next year when I teach this same material. This illustrates how difficult it is to prescribe an exact curriculum to teach this material. Each school is different, each class is different, and therefore each group of discussions will likely be different.
There are, however, some recommendations I can make to teachers thinking about introducing Racism 2.0 material in their classrooms. These recommendations come from my own experience teaching and my research on the subject. The most important thing I tried to do in my classroom was be real with the students. I voiced my own difficulties in thinking about race and discussing it with other people. I shared personal experiences and experiences my friends have had.
In addition to trying to be real and honest with my students, I provided them with interesting material to think about. I included current, relevant examples that made the content come alive for the students. American schools teach the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, but leave many students believing racism is over (Loewen, 1995). I taught using different media, such as songs, television shows, movies, YouTube videos, statistics, and news reports. This is more effective than teaching abstract theories about racism from an academic article or textbook. Showing video clips in class provided a way for students to distance themselves from the topics discussed (Pimentel, 2010). Students really connected to the clips from the television show, “What Would You Do?” and the clips from the movie Freedom Writers. These video clips allowed students more freedom to share thoughts in class because they were not limited to talking about their own experience.39
I have learned that not everyone will appreciate the message you are trying to share. Many students will become angry or defensive. Several years ago, while discussing why certain groups of people might resort to crime, a student called out, “Why don’t they just get a job?” which left me feeling very angry and frustrated. I wanted to put this student in his place for showing such arrogance, but I did not. In the years since this experience, I have realized that each student will encounter this material from a different point of view, and I actually came to appreciate this comment. At least this particular student felt comfortable enough to voice his question and his opinion. If I had attacked this student, it could have negatively impacted the safe space I was trying to create in my classroom. Resistance is not necessarily a negative thing. It is often merely a stage students go through as they learn to understand the difficult Racism 2.0 material.
I have become content to think of this Racism 2.0 unit as just an introduction to the material. The more I learn about the concepts of power, privilege, and racism, the more I want to share with my students. However, too much information at once can overwhelm anyone, especially considering that my students are sophomores in high school. I feel confident that most students who were in my class appreciated the message and understood what I was trying to get across. They may not fully agree with everything that was presented, but at least they are familiar with it. And if they ever encounter the information again, whether it is in college or elsewhere, they will be that much more likely to accept the material then.
Limitations
Some may argue that a quantitative research method offers more reliability and validity than a qualitative study, especially an autoethnography. One of the criticisms 40
against the authoethnography research method is the ability for the researcher to be objective. I tried to offer an honest reflection in my own journal entries, but my own bias to the material is difficult to remove. I kept a personal journal of my own feelings and impressions and tried to observe students’ behaviors in class. This was more difficult than I expected. When looking for patterns of resistance, it was difficult to determine whether students were acting strange because of the material or because they are teenagers. I am unable to know what is causing certain student behaviors. Their written responses were much more reliable measures than the observations I did in class.
Still, one major limitation when dealing with a topic such as racism is determining the true feelings of any particular student. Even when a student writes in his journal, is he being honest, or is he just writing what he thinks he is supposed to say? Students were more likely to share their true feelings in a reflection than they were in a class discussion.
Finally, what worked in my classroom may not work in every classroom. There are too many variables at play to predict how effective this curriculum would be if replicated in another classroom. This autoethnography was meant only to be one example of the implementation of Racism 2.0 material in a high school classroom.
Recommendations for Further Research
No matter at what level, high school or college, more teachers need to include Racism 2.0 material into their curriculum. There is a need for more research of Racism 2.0 material being introduced at the high school level. This study features a White teacher introducing the content to mostly White students. Further research is needed for different demographics. How would the presentation of the material change if the teacher were a person of color? How would the presentation of the material change if the student 41
population were more diverse? Could a teacher go further into the material if it were a class full of high school seniors instead of a class full of high school sophomores? Also, this study involves the material being introduced in an English class. Perhaps another content area would be more appropriate, such as history or sociology.
Conclusion
The topic of race is complex and requires a commitment in order to dismantle the system of racism that exists. The process of unlearning racism must continue throughout our lives (Lawrence & Tatum, 1998; Denevi & Pastan, 2006). Most students will not change their thinking in one course, whether that course is taken in high school or college. This study has proven to me how important it is to introduce these concepts to young people as they move on to college. I know some of my students did not buy in to everything presented to them. Also, I know some students may never encounter this material again. However, to the students who may encounter these concepts again, I believe my class has given them a proper introduction, and they will be that much more likely to understand and accept this difficult material then.42
References
Catlin, J. (2008). Black like me: a shared ethnography. Journal of Urban Learning Teaching and Research, 4, 13-22.
Denevi, E. & Pastan, N. (2006). Helping whites develop anti-racist identities: Overcoming their resistance to fighting racism. Multicultural Education, 14(2), 70-73.
Ford, T. & Quinn, L. (2010). First year teacher education candidates: What are their perceptions about multicultural education? Multicultural Education, 17(4), 18-24.
Gershon, W., Bilinovich, C. & Peel, A. (2010). Race, social studies content, and pedagogy: wrestling through discomfort together. Canadian Social Studies, 44(1), 29-37.
Heinze, P. (2008). Let’s talk about race, baby: How a white professor teaches white students about white privilege & racism. Multicultural Education, 16(1), 2-11.
Hughes, S. (2008). Maggie and me: A black professor and a white urban school teacher connect autoethnography to critical race pedagogy. Educational Foundations, 22(3), 73-95.
Jost, M., Whitfield, E. & Jost, M. (2005). When the rules are fair but the game isn't. Multicultural Education, 13(1),14.
Landt, S. (2007). Weaving multicultural literature into middle school curricula. Middle School Journal, 39(2), 19-24.
Lawrence, S. & Tatum, B. (1998). White racial identity and anti-racist education: A catalyst for change. Beyond heroes and holidays: A practical guide to k-12 anti-racist multicultural education and staff development. Washington, DC, 45-51.43
Liu, A. (2011). Unraveling the Myth of Meritocracy within the Context of US Higher Education. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning, (62)4, 383-397.
Loewen, J. (1995). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got wrong. New York, NY: New York Press.
McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women’s studies. Wellesley, MA: Center for Research on Women.
McNamee, S. & Miller R. (2004). The meritocracy myth. Sociation Today 2(1).
Meritocracy. (2011). Merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved December 3, 2011 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meritocracy.
Nicholson, B. (2003). Beyond jefferson: The rhetoric of meritocracy and the funding of public education. Educational Foundations, 17(1), 21-40.
Pappas, G. & Tremblay, C. (2010). Meritocracy the great american myth? A look at gatekeeping in american higher education. College and University (86)1. 28-34.
Pimentel, C. (2010). Critical race talk in teacher education through movie analysis: From stand and deliver to freedom writers. Multicultural Education, 17(3), 51-56.
Souto-Manning, M. (2011). Playing with Power and Privilege: Theatre Games in Teacher Education. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, (27)6, 997-1007.44
St. Clair, D. & Kishimoto, K. (2010). Decolonizing Teaching: A Cross-Curricular and Collaborative Model for Teaching about Race in the University. Multicultural Education, 18(1), 18-24.
Tatum, B. (1992). Talking about race, learning about racism: The application of racial identity development theory in the classroom. Harvard Educational Review, 62, 1-24.
Tatum, B. (1997). Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books.
U.S. Census Bureau (2010). Table 697. Money income of families – median income by race and hispanic origin in current and constant (2009) dollars: 1990 to 2009. Retrieved [December 30, 2011] from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0697.pdf
Wall, S. (2006). An autoethnography on learning about autoethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(2), Article 9. Retrieved [December 3, 2011] from http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/5_2/html/wall.htm
Wise, T. (2009). Between barack and a hard place: Racism and white denial in the age of obama. San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books.45
IRB Approval
Kyle Nelson <knelson@alpinedistrict.org>
IRB Approval #00898 - "Racism 2.0 in a High School Classroom" 1 message
Nancy Bartlett <Nancy.Bartlett@uvu.edu>
Tue, May 8, 2012 at 4:25 PM
To: "knelson@alpinedistrict.org" <knelson@alpinedistrict.org>
Cc: Maureen Andrade <Maureen.Andrade@uvu.edu>
May 8, 2012
Mr. Nelson:
You recently submitted for Institutional Review Board review a student research proposal entitled, “Racism 2.0 in a High School Classroom.” Your study has been assigned the following IRB tracking number: #00898.
Based on the information provided on the application, and the adjustments you made at the request of the IRB, your research proposal appears to pose “minimal” risks to human subjects and, therefore, meets the Federal criteria for an “expedited” review.
You herein have approval from UVU's IRB to begin your research. This approval is good until April 11, 2013 (365 days from the date of approval). After this date, you will no longer be authorized to access and analyze existing data unless you complete and submit a request for continuing status form. Multiple year studies must reviewed and approved annually by the full IRB.
To ensure that individuals and organizations involved in your study are aware that you have received IRB approval, please use the IRB tracking numbers above on all documents and communications associated with this project as identification of IRB authorization (i.e., IRB Approval #00898).
Please notify Nancy L. Bartlett, the IRB Administrator, at (801) 863-8156, BA203d, of any changes made in the instruments, consent form, or research process, so the IRB can review and approve them before the change is implemented.
When you have completed your research, please notify the IRB. In keeping with Federal regulations, you must retain non-identifiable research data for a period of 3 46
years from the date of completion of the research.
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Utah Valley University
Racism 2.0 in a High School Classroom:
an Autoethnography
A proposal submitted in partial satisfaction
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Education
in
English as a Second Language
by
Kyle J. Nelson
February 2013Abstract
Many people recognize racism only in individual acts, not as a system of advantage based on race. This new understanding of racism has been coined Racism 2.0 (Wise, 2008). Similar to Critical Race Theory, which is the intersection of race and power, Racism 2.0 is more difficult to recognize than Racism 1.0, which includes individual acts such as racial insults and prejudicial beliefs. Since Racism 2.0 is more difficult to recognize, people may believe it is a problem of the past. This qualitative project examines the implementation of Racism 2.0 concepts in a high school English class. The study includes many voices, including the White teacher and the predominantly White students, as they grapple with this difficult material. Data were gathered through journal entries, surveys, and observations. The reactions to the material were varied, with some students showing remarkable insight and others displaying common resistance to the material. Much of the existing research concerning Racism 2.0 material takes place in higher education, with college professors and college students. This study addresses the possibility of introducing Racism 2.0 concepts in a high school classroom, in order to better prepare students to encounter this material in the future.4
Contents
Chapter One Introduction ...................................................................................................... 5
Problem ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Purpose ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Research Questions........................................................................................................................... 7
Overview of Methodology ................................................................................................................ 7
Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................................ 8
Chapter Two Literature Review ....................................................................................... 10
Introduction to Diversity Education ......................................................................................... 10
Beyond Diversity Education ........................................................................................................ 11
Racism 2.0 ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Importance of Racism 2.0 Education ........................................................................................ 13
Student Reaction to Racism 2.0 Material ................................................................................ 15
Teacher Implementation of Racism 2.0 Material ................................................................. 15
Future of Multicultural Education and Racism 2.0 .............................................................. 18
Chapter Three Methodology .............................................................................................. 19
Research Perspective ..................................................................................................................... 19
What is Autoethnography? ........................................................................................................... 19
Context ................................................................................................................................................ 20
Participants ...................................................................................................................................... 21
Data Collection ................................................................................................................................. 21
Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................... 23
Chapter Four Results ........................................................................................................... 24
Analyzing Data for an Autoethnography ................................................................................. 24
Is Racism Still a Problem? ............................................................................................................. 25
How Do Students Define Racism? .............................................................................................. 26
Summary of Lessons, Activities, and Reactions .................................................................... 27
Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 33
Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 34
Chapter Five Discussion ..................................................................................................... 35
Introducing the Material ............................................................................................................... 35
The Students ..................................................................................................................................... 36
The Teacher ...................................................................................................................................... 36
Implications for Teaching ............................................................................................................. 37
Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 39
Recommendations for Further Research ................................................................................ 40
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 41
References ............................................................................................................................... 42 Chapter One Introduction
"Some people are born on third base and
go through life thinking they hit a triple."
-Barry Switzer (College Football Coach)
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America declared that all men are created equal and that all men should have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This ideology, first introduced by Thomas Jefferson in the late 1700’s, has since been coined as a meritocracy (Nicholson, 2003), which is defined as "a system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement" (Merriam-Webster.com). Numerous researchers have challenged this ideal of a meritocracy in the United States (McIntosh, 1988; McNamee & Miller, 2004; Pappas & Tremblay, 2010; Souto-Manning, 2011; Liu, 2011).
Souto-Manning (2011), for example, argues that power and privilege must be addressed when considering the concept of a meritocracy. It is not that these researchers do not believe in merit, but rather that people's accomplishments are not always entirely tied to their talents or abilities. Race, social class, and gender are some factors to consider. Power and privilege are other factors at play, and are manifest in a myriad of ways. The saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know" illustrates one example of how power and privilege can supersede merit or ability.
Problem
Not every race has equal access to power and privilege in American society. Although the Civil Rights Movement was over 40 years ago, the fight for equality is not over. Racial inequality still plagues America, evidenced by inequities in employment, 6
education, health care, criminal justice, and housing (Wise, 2009). For example, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that in 2009 the median income for Blacks ($38,409) was roughly 60% that of Whites ($62,545).
This problem is compounded if people do not recognize these inequities as manifestations of racism. American schools teach the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, but leave many students believing that racism is over (Loewen, 1995).
Tim Wise, one of the most prominent antiracist voices in the United States (recipient of the 2008 Oliver L. Brown Distinguished Visiting Scholar for Diversity Issues), reminds us that racism is not over, and that inequalities continue to affect persons of color (Wise, 2009). Part of the problem is that many people recognize racism only in individual acts, not as a system of advantage based on race. There must be a distinction between the terms prejudice and racism, since many people use these terms interchangeably (Tatum, 1997).
Purpose
Celebrating diversity is not enough. Ford and Quinn (2010) report that many schools have tried to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, for example, yet this superficial observance has become a “bastardization of multicultural education” (p. 21). Multicultural education is more than appreciating diversity and other cultures through the discussion of holidays, foods, and customs. It must also include the examination of power, privilege, and racism, otherwise known as Racism 2.0 (Wise, 2009).
This examination is typically introduced in a college setting (St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010). There is little research supporting the introduction of these concepts in a high school classroom. The purpose of this study will be to examine my own 7
classroom, both myself as the teacher and my students, as I introduce the study of Racism 2.0 to high school students.
Research Questions
As I introduce the concept of Racism 2.0 and related lesson materials in my high school classroom, I will observe my students’ reactions to the material and compare their reactions to those of college students described in existing literature. I will also compare my own experience to the experiences of college professors and researchers in the literature. The questions I will be addressing in this project are:
1. How do the demographics (age, race, and socio-economic status) of both the teacher and the students impact the teaching and learning of Racism 2.0?
2. What are some ways for a White teacher to engage in meaningful discussions about race with White high school students?
3. How can my experience teaching Racism 2.0 inform other educators interested in teaching this content?
Overview of Methodology
This autoethnographic study will examine the implementation of Racism 2.0 material both from the teacher's perspective and the students’ perspectives. This study will include multiple voices in an attempt to capture an accurate account of the inclusion of Racism 2.0 material. I will conduct the research at a large high school in the Western United States. The participants will include myself as the teacher, and 10th grade students in four different English classes. We will study Monster by Walter Dean Myers, a contemporary novel about a young, Black man on trial for murder. I have chosen this novel due to my past experience teaching the book. It is one that has been approved by 8
the school and the district in which I teach. The novel will be used as an entry point into the introduction of Racism 2.0, since it contains issues such as race, prejudice, and equality.
I will keep a detailed journal during the teaching of the material, and will write my own observations and impressions. In addition to my voice, the research will involve collecting student voices from class discussions, online surveys, and student writing journals.
Definition of Terms
Many of the terms used in multicultural education are used in different ways. Terms such as racism and prejudice are often used interchangeably. However, there are specific distinctions to be made between those terms and other terms used in multicultural education. The following is a list of some important terms and how I will be using them in this study:
Race: A distinction given to different colors of people based on how they are perceived in social circles. Race is a social construct, with most scientists rejecting the notion that race is a biological or genetic construct (Wise, 2009, p. 13).
White: "A person, typically, of European descent and capable of being viewed as a member of the dominant racial group in the United States" (Wise, 2009, p. 14).
Black: "A person, typically, of African descent, dark enough to be considered a member of that group that was historically at the bottom (along with indigenous persons) of the nation's racial hierarchy" (Wise, 2009, p. 14).9
Person of Color: Anyone who is not viewed as a member of the dominant racial group in the United States. “To be a person of color is simply to be anything other than White, in the eyes of most Americans” (Wise, 2009, p. 14).
Racism: Many people recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness (McIntosh, 1988). This definition is closer to prejudice, however. Racism, when one factors in power, privilege, and opportunity, has more specifically been defined as a system of advantage based on race (Wellman, 1977; McIntosh, 1988; Tatum, 1992; Wise, 2009).
White Privilege: Invisible package of unearned benefits experienced every day byWhite Americans (McIntosh, 1988). Some examples are the ability to shop without being followed, being sure a police officer has not singled you out because of your race, and finding flesh-color bandages to match your skin. In other words, if persons of color are often at a disadvantage (see Racism), then White people are left with the advantage.
Prejudice: Prejudgment. Individual bias. Not to be confused with Racism, and not necessarily limited to race.
Diversity: Many colleges have a diversity requirement, which has resulted in diversity being a study or celebration of ethnic and cultural differences, such as food, clothing, or important figures of history. Traditionally, diversity classes have not addressed the issues of power and equity (Pimentel, 2010).
Meritocracy: A system in which the talented are chosen and moved ahead on the basis of their achievement.10
Chapter Two Literature Review
This section will provide a brief history of multicultural education in the United States, highlighting how the emphasis has shifted from celebrating diversity to addressing issues such as race, power, and privilege. Nearly every study takes place in a college setting, with the content being introduced to college students by a college professor. I will introduce and define Racism 2.0, and will provide a rationale for the inclusion of this material in education, specifically in secondary education. Finally, I will share student and teacher perspectives of Racism 2.0 based on the literature, and then make suggestions for the future of multicultural education.
Introduction to Diversity Education
In the first 200 years of America's history, there is little documented diversity education. Race and diversity education emerged on college campuses in the 1960s and 1970s, responding to the absence of perspectives of people in color in academia (St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010). Traditionally, teachers and students did not discuss race in the classroom, and diversity education was nonexistent. Only within the last 25 years have teacher education programs included diversity curriculum for future educators (Ford & Quinn, 2010).
St. Clair and Kishimoto (2010) report that almost 60% of higher education institutions require students take at least one course addressing diversity. These courses often serve as an investigation into “other” cultures, such as the inclusion of ethnic authors to counter the “overwhelmingly White male authors read in the previous decades” (Landt, 2007). Though this approach has been a step in the right direction, 11
encountering a month of diversity or a chapter on multicultural literature reinforces the position of “other” and that these “others” are merely deviations from the standard (Landt, 2007).
The celebration of diversity alone fails to examine the inequitable outcomes that exist in American society (Pimentel, 2010). More educational support is needed, considering the scarce number of programs designed to fully analyze the systemic and individual treatment of diverse cultures, races, or ethnicities (Ford & Quinn, 2010).
Beyond Diversity Education
Celebrating diversity is not enough to produce equitable results in American society, or at least an honest examination of the inequitable results. Ford and Quinn (2010) report that many schools have tried to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, for example, yet this superficial observance has become a “bastardization of multicultural education” (p. 21). Multicultural education should be more than appreciating diversity and other cultures through the discussion of holidays, foods, and customs. It must also include the examination of power, privilege, and racism. Tolerance and acceptance are important steps, but they alone will not lead to fairness and equity. Current researchers and practitioners urge schools to go beyond diversity education "to address the more uncomfortable issues of power and equity- namely racism" (Pimentel, 2010, p. 51). Racism in this context is defined not by individual actions or behavior, but as a "system of advantage based on race" (Tatum, 1992).
Denevi and Pastan (2006) warn that even students who participate in diversity clubs, which one would think would go beyond traditional diversity education, can still escape confronting the systemic issues of power and privilege. If the objective is to 12
increase education in order to ensure that all people, regardless of race, receive the same opportunities (Heinze, 2008), then schools must go beyond traditional diversity education that merely celebrates or explores other cultures, races, or ethnicities.
Racism 2.0
Numerous researchers advocate the need for schools to address these issues of race, racism, power, discrimination, equity, and privilege (McIntosh, 1988; Tatum, 1992; Lawrence & Tatum, 1998; Heinze, 2008). Many of these terms have been used interchangeably. Wise (2009) captures the intersection of these issues in American society with the term Racism 2.0.
Racism 1.0 is identifiable as "old-fashioned bigotry," something America is familiar with, allowing Americans to know it when they see it (Wise, 2009). Racism 2.0, however, is much more difficult to recognize. This might explain why schools have traditionally focused on celebrations or superficial explorations into other cultures. Heinze (2008) claims that this less recognizable form of racism is more subtle than Racism 1.0, which often manifests itself as overt aggression.
Although racism (both 1.0 and 2.0) affects people of all races, much of the literature focuses on persons of color as the victims of racism. The dominant classification is ‘person of color.’ Racism, therefore, is not simply a Black and White issue. It is an issue involving Whites and persons of color, or anyone who is anything other than White in the eyes of most Americans (Wise, 2009). An integral part of Racism 2.0 is White privilege, described as "an invisible package of unearned assets which [White people] can count on cashing in each day" (McIntosh, 1988). McIntosh, who is white, lists 26 privileges, which range from being able to find “flesh-colored” band-aids 13
that match her skin color, to not being followed while shopping, to the media representing her race in a mostly positive light. White privilege works much the same way male privilege works, with society as a whole taught not to recognize it (McIntosh, 1988). Like other areas of Racism 2.0, White privilege is an “elusive and fugitive” subject, something that must be examined closely to be recognized (McIntosh, 1988).
Importance of Racism 2.0 Education
Just as McIntosh (1988) had to write down the unearned benefits she received in order to recognize them, it is easier for White people to forget that racism is still a problem. These issues of race and privilege must be addressed because racism is still a problem, specifically for persons of color (Wise, 2009). This is evidenced by racial inequities in employment, education, health care, criminal justice, housing, just to name a few, with the studies indicating that these inequities “are due in large measure to discrimination, either past, present, or a combination of the two" (Wise, 2009, p. 18). Even colleges that include discussions on racism as part of their curriculum, typically focus on persons of color as “recipients of racism” and rarely focus on White people as the “recipients of White privilege” (Pimentel, 2010, p. 52).
If schools are to address the issues of race and privilege, students must be required to confront the issues directly. In numerous studies, White college students have claimed to be “colorblind,” allowing them to avoid seeing or discussing racial issues (Ford & Quinn, 2010; Jost, Whitfield, & Jost, 2005). Because they represent the majority, and because they are rarely victims of racism themselves, it is much easier for a White person to avoid thinking about race than it is for a person of color. (Tatum, 1997; Ford & Quinn, 2010). So in an attempt to understand racial inequality, White students try to draw 14
from their own experience. These interpretations of their own experience usually uphold the incorrect belief that society’s rules “apply roughly the same to everyone" (Ford & Quinn, 2010, p. 19-21).
This problem of Whites not understanding the plight of persons of color is compounded when an overview of the teaching workforce is considered. Ford and Quinn (2010) call for more diversity in the teaching workforce, considering that a 2006 report by the National Center for Education Statistics reveals that 84% of teachers in public schools are White (p. 19). Catlin (2008) reports that teachers and students who share race in common have more effective relationships, because teachers have more insight into the student's experiences and students are more willing to reveal more about their own experiences. So until the diversity of teachers is increased, it is important to prepare White teachers with the education necessary to relate to students with different backgrounds than themselves (Ford & Quinn, 2010).
Both White students and students of color will benefit from being taught by teachers with exposure to Racism 2.0 education, since the teachers will be better equipped to relate to their students, whether through shared race or shared understanding (Ford & Quinn, 2010). Those who understand the dynamics of Racism 2.0 are "able to connect with the student of color in a more authentic way that demonstrably affects learning" (Heinze, 2008, p. 6). Ford and Quinn (2008) identify a strong correlation between teacher quality and student achievement, contending that teacher excellence is not just mastery of content and pedagogy, but cultural competence as well. 15
Student Reaction to Racism 2.0 Material
It is important to consider the reactions that college students have to the introduction of these issues of race and power. Several studies of college students (Pimentel, 2010; Heinze, 2008; St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010) reveal how persons of color typically welcome the race talk, whereas some White students begin to show patterns of resistance. Some of the most common forms of resistance among White students are stubbornness, cynicism, and denial. Students also attempt to change the subject, show an unwillingness to do activities, or stop coming to class (Heinze, 2008).
Another study observes students who withdraw from conversations entirely or collude with one another to create “a culture of niceness” (Pimentel, 2010, p. 51). Tatum (1992) reports that when White students discuss racism it often elicits strong feelings of guilt and shame that can be experienced as anger and defensiveness. Students want answers, not questions (Gershon, Bilinovich, & Peel, 2010).
Despite these patterns of resistance to Racism 2.0 material, student learning does take place. While it is difficult to produce empirical data to demonstrate this learning and awareness, "there is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence” that reveals the reactions to the material and suggests that the students studying the Racism 2.0 material are learning (Heinze, 2008, p. 10). For student learning to take place, a secure classroom culture must be created, what Tatum (1992) calls a "safe space," in order for students to feel comfortable enough to explore these difficult, emotional issues.
Teacher Implementation of Racism 2.0 Material
Numerous studies provide examples of what teachers do in their classrooms to present issues such as race, power, and privilege (Denevi & Pastan, 2006; Heinze, 2008; 16
Pimentel, 2010). Several researchers have students list privileges and benefits that White people specifically receive (McIntosh, 1988; Tatum, 1992; Heinze, 2008). One activity, called the Race Game, requires students to use the word 'White' whenever they are describing an encounter with a White person. For example, a student might say, "I was at the supermarket and there was a White cashier who was so friendly" (Heinze, 2008, p. 4). The objective of this activity is for students to recognize that Whiteness is never acknowledged by White people. Heinze (2008) also has students regularly discuss racism and racists early in the semester in order to desensitize students to the terms, thus lessening the chance that they will respond defensively to the material.
Although research urges teachers of Racism 2.0 to create a classroom where students feel comfortable, another study insists on the importance of keeping students "leaning into discomfort and challenging their own thoughts and actions" (Denevi & Pastan, 2006, p. 73). Students and teachers, regardless of race, often feel uncomfortable while talking about race, albeit for different reasons (Gershon, Bilinovich, & Peel, 2010). Teachers may not address these difficult issues because of the discomfort students and teachers may feel, but end up reinforcing the status quo as a consequence (Pimentel, 2010).
Pimentel (2010) advocates for the use of racially charged films as a way to distance the students from the topics discussed. In effort to alleviate student discomfort and make the classroom a safe space, Heinze (2008) uses himself as a model for his college students (p. 6). This includes the teacher being honest about his or her own beliefs and personal biases, which allows students to see the teacher as a real person, "approachable, and most importantly, fallible" (Heinze, 2008, p. 7). This process of self-17
disclosure is easier for White male teachers, compared to a professor of color (or any oppressed group), who has "much more to risk disclosing such personal biases in front of a predominantly White class" (Heinze, 2008, p. 7). Heinze (2008) adds that the more honest and transparent a teacher is, the more likely a student will be to open up and acknowledge what might be considered politically incorrect thoughts (p. 7). Because many students look up to teachers as examples, teachers purposefully acting as models can "affect students beyond the intended lessons they teach" (Landt, 2007, p. 21).
White teachers, who used themselves as models, began with acknowledging their own White privilege and unconscious racism. This is where Racism 2.0 education can begin to make sense, where White students begin to comprehend their own "Whiteness and all of its complex social implications" (Ford & Quinn, 2010, p. 20). This increased awareness of their own privilege leads to a better understanding of institutional racism, and ultimately to a better understanding of the experiences of persons of color (Heinze, 2008, p. 3).
An integral part of Racism 2.0 education is correcting students' beliefs "that the rules of society apply roughly the same to everyone" (Ford & Quinn, 2010, p. 19-21). Another erroneous belief that some students employ is that one is either racist or not, there is no in between (Heinze, 2008, p. 5). This is problematic because it removes any grey area, but also because it primarily looks at racism as an individual act instead of something that exists systemically or institutionally. Numerous researchers call for the distinction between individual and institutional forms of racism, moving away from racism that focuses only on individual acts (Pimentel, 2010; Wise, 2009; Heinze, 2008).18
Future of Multicultural Education and Racism 2.0
The topic of race is truly complex and requires a long-term commitment in order to dismantle the system of racism and White privilege that exists. This begins with individuals unlearning racism and is a process that must continue throughout our lives (Lawrence & Tatum, 1998; Denevi & Pastan, 2006). With all of the diversity programs and meaningful race discussions that college professors are currently leading, the system is not changing (Denevi & Pastan, 2006). This is evidenced by inequities in employment, education, health care, criminal justice, and housing (Wise, 2009). For example, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that in 2009 the median income for Blacks ($38,409) was roughly 60% that of Whites ($62,545). More still needs to be done. Pimentel (2010) hopes that other teachers can build upon the existing knowledge base and create other classroom activities and projects where "students can critically engage the topic of race" (p. 56).
A large gap in the literature exists with the introduction of Racism 2.0 concepts before students get to college. Because unlearning racism is a process, there is a need for continued education after students take a college course dealing with these issues, or the need for an introductory course to prepare them for the information they will encounter in college. Denevi and Pastan (2006) continually encounter White students who have never thought about their own race and privilege, and are then unable to go as far in the material as they want, because it is too big of a jump. Ford and Quinn (2010) implore for a mass of teachers who are competent multicultural educators in order to serve the nation's students a quality education. 19
Chapter Three Methodology
This chapter will detail the methods used in the research process, specifically the participants and the procedures. There will be a brief explanation of the research perspective used, because it is a relatively new type of research.
Research Perspective
This study will be a qualitative autoethnography. In addition to my voice, I will capture student voices through the use of observation, survey questions, and journals. I will be keeping a journal as well, detailing my interactions with the students and my experience presenting the content. The research will be based on my subjective experience, but will also include the reactions and experiences of students in the class. I chose this perspective because I think it will provide the most accurate and honest picture of my classroom as a whole, specifically how the material is presented and received.
When it comes to research, I have my own struggles trying to understand subjectivity and the criticism surrounding the use of first person voice. I chose this genre because of its "capacity to engage first person voice, and to embrace the conflict of writing against oneself as he or she finds himself/herself entrenched in the complications of their positions" (Hughes, 2008). Entering another teacher's classroom as a researcher is not as natural to me as studying my own classroom with the dual role of teacher and researcher.
What is Autoethnography?
If ethnography is the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures, then an autoethnography is when the researcher is part of the culture being 20
observed. The culture in this study is a high school classroom, and being the teacher in that high school classroom, my experience is part of this study. I am not just interested in how the students respond to the material being presented, but in the implementation of the material as well. One of the research questions in this study aims to provide information to other educators thinking of teaching this content in their classes.
Autoethnography is a relatively new research approach, with the first autoethnography published in 1966 (Facing Mt. Kenya by Jomo Kenyatta) in the face of harsh criticism (Hughes, 2008). One criticism of this research perspective is that it is too subjective. Clandinin and Connelly (1994) argue, however, that if a researcher’s voice is omitted from a text, the writing is reduced to a mere summary and interpretation of the works of others, with nothing new added (as cited in Wall, 2006).
Autoethnography varies widely, from the highly introspective, through more familiar approaches connected to qualitative research. Though this research perspective is relatively new, and there is a lack of published pieces, it must be noted that some authors who have pursued autobiographical inquiry have not referred to their written products as autoethnographies, but instead as autobiographies, personal narratives, and case studies.
Context
I am a 4th year English teacher at a large high school in the Western United States. As part of the regular curriculum, we read Monster by Walter Dean Myers. This has been the case each year that I have taught at the school. The book is approved by both the high school and district in which I teach. Monster is a story about a 16-year-old Black male on trial for murder and deals with topics such as race, prejudice, and equality. One example is when a lawyer says to the protagonist that many of the jurors have made up 21
their minds about him even if they are unaware of it. “You’re young, you’re Black, and you’re on trial. What else do they need to know?”
As we read this book, I ask students to write about and discuss issues such as race, inequality, and the American dream. These topics connect with Racism 2.0 and issues of power and privilege. The examination of these concepts lasts about six weeks, as we read the book and complete other activities in class.
Participants
I am a 4th-year English teacher and have taught at the same high school since I earned my teaching degree in 2008. I am a 32-year-old White male and am a member of the dominant religion in the area. I also coach football at the high school.
I will conduct this study at a large suburban high school in the Western United States. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the student population of this high school is 93% White, 2% Hispanic, 2% Asian/Pacific Islander, and less than 1% Black. Only 7% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
I will be teaching four different English classes over a period of six weeks as we read Monster and discuss issues relating to Racism 2.0. Each class will have approximately 30-35 students made up somewhat equally of males and females. One class will be a co-taught class with a mixture of traditional students and students with learning disabilities.
Data Collection
I will combine my voice with the voices of my students to create an accurate depiction of the classroom during this particular unit. To capture my voice, I will keep a 22
detailed, reflective journal capturing my feelings and impressions throughout the unit. The students' voices will be captured through observation, survey questions, and journals.
Observation is key in ethnography research in order to represent individual peoples or cultures. As a teacher, I regularly try to be aware of my students' reactions to material taught in class, but this study will require that I be even more cognizant of their reactions. I will write things down during class and will try to gauge students' understanding of the material through class discussions. My regular journal entries will attempt to capture the classroom environment, including the students and myself as the teacher.
Surveys will be anonymous and will be conducted online. The purpose of doing surveys is to get students' background knowledge and opinions of the content. Throughout the year I use surveys as a teaching tool to gather information, and I will use the results to drive our classroom discussions and writing prompts. Open-ended questions such as "Does racism still exist? Why or why not?" will provide me with items to discuss with the class. These surveys will be anonymous in the hope of getting students to be more honest in their responses, and in getting students to avoid answering questions with politically correct answers or answers they think the teacher wants to hear.
Finally, students will keep journals throughout the unit and I will read these journals looking for reactions to the material presented in class. Throughout the year, students write in their journals on a variety of topics, ranging from childhood memories to favorite movies to opinions on controversial topics. The journals are a big part of the class, with students writing one page every period, sometimes two. I am constantly reinforcing the power of writing, trying to get them to be honest and reflective in the 23
things they write about. Topics such as race, power, and equality should evoke opinions and feelings from the students, which I hope will lead to descriptive writing.
Data Analysis
Most of the data will be qualitative and will be coded thematically. Themes may include but are not limited to discovery (e.g. "I never knew people were pulled over for Driving While Black"), or difficulty (e.g. "I don't like talking about Black people when they're not around"), or inexperience ("I've never thought of this before"). These themes will emerge from classroom discussions, survey questions, or student journals.
With an autoethnography research perspective, there will be multiple voices represented. I will use direct quotes whenever possible, which will emerge from classroom discussions, survey questions, or student journals.
There will be minimal quantitative data pulled from the online surveys. These may include opinions on a 4-point scale, or a number of times a student has heard a racist remark, or the number of times a student has been followed by an employee in a department store. I will use this information to drive classroom discussions, not necessarily to include in the research findings.24
Chapter Four Results
This chapter summarizes the data collected throughout the study. During the unit on Racism 2.0, I included multiple voices to get an accurate picture of my students’ experiences, as well as my own experience. The students' voices were captured through observations, survey questions, and journals. Because an autoethnography includes the researcher’s experience as well, I kept a detailed, reflective journal with my feelings and impressions throughout the two-week unit on Racism 2.0.
In the following sections, I review the findings from the initial student survey in which students defined racism and its importance in 2012. Then I describe the lessons taught in class and how students reacted to them, including resistance to the material. The chapter ends with the limitations of my observations and an overall summary of the data collected. All student names have been changed or omitted.
Analyzing Data for an Autoethnography
I chose the research method of autoethnography because I felt it would provide the most accurate picture of my students’ experiences, as well as my own experience as the teacher. I was interested in my students’ reaction to the Racism 2.0 material, but I also wanted to document my experience as the teacher to add to ongoing research on multicultural education.
The data analysis involved reviewing the students’ responses to an online survey, students’ journal entries, and a one-page written reflection they wrote at the end of the two-week unit on Racism 2.0. I looked for commonalities in the students’ experiences and opinions. I coded student responses, searching for specific lessons or moments that 25
may have evoked each reaction. I searched for quotes that would illustrate how students felt before, during, and after the teaching of the material. I read through my own journal entries that I kept throughout the unit, where I wrote down observations from class and my own thoughts about how the lessons went.
Is Racism Still a Problem?
Before students read Monster, or discussed racism in class, they filled out an online survey. I used this survey to determine how students defined racism, as well as to determine how serious students felt racism was in 2012. I shared the results of the study after we read the book and began discussing Racism 2.0.
Prior to discussing the results of the online survey, the students filled out an anticipation guide to the novel, Monster. The True/False questions were designed to access their background knowledge and get them thinking about some of the themes from the text. They filled out the anticipation guide individually, and then we discussed the answers as a class. It seemed to be very easy for the students to get the “right” answer. For example, students indicated that the statement, “Peer pressure is always negative,” was false and pointed out examples of positive peer pressure. Students correctly said the statement, “People who commit crimes come from broken homes and dysfunctional families,” was false and pointed out that criminals can come from all walks of life. They quickly said the statement, “Writing in a journal is a good way to express feelings,” was true, perhaps because they were in an English class where they kept a journal for a grade. Students said the statement, “Racism and prejudice aren’t very big problems today,” was false and talked about how racism is still around today. 26
However, when asked, “How bad of a problem is racism in 2012?” in the online survey, given a week prior to the anticipation guide, students told a very different story. Most students recognized racism as a “big problem” in the 1950’s and 1960’s, while few recognized racism as a “big problem” in 2012. There were two questions on the online survey that requested students to indicate the seriousness of racism in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and how extensive racism is in 2012. Out of 132 students, 117 (89%) said that racism was a serious problem in the 50’s and 60’s. When asked about the seriousness of racism is in 2012, only 3 students (2%) said that racism was a serious problem. See Figure 1.
Figure 1
How Do Students Define Racism?
In the survey, students were asked to define racism in their own words. After analyzing their responses, I found different words that basically said the same thing. Most students defined racism as “being mean” or “thinking that they’re better” than someone
Minor
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Major
Problem
1950's and 1960's
0
0
3
12
117
2012
19
53
47
10
3
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Number of Students
Is Racism Still a Problem? 27
from another race. They used words like “prejudice,” “discrimination,” and “segregation.” Their responses embody McIntosh’s (1988) claim that most people recognize racism only in individual acts, not as a system of advantage based on race. One student said, “My definition of racism would probably be not treating someone like a person, kind of like an IT. A person is a person and everybody should be treated fairly.”
When asked in the survey to give specific examples of racism, most students produced examples of individual meanness such as jokes, insults, and name calling. Students identified racism in important moments and figures from history, such as slavery, the Holocaust, Emmitt Till, Rosa Parks, and segregation.
Not all students defined racism this way, however. A few students defined racism by mentioning jobs, wealth, education, and opportunity, which are closer to the “system of advantage” written about by McIntosh (1988). One student defined racism as “a separation between white Americans and other skin colors or religions.” While many students recognized racism as obvious acts (Racism 1.0), some students recognized the more subtle manifestations of racism (Racism 2.0), as in the following response:
To me racism is not so much the obvious segregation that used to happen to African-Americans. It’s the little things that happen almost daily like when there are two open seats on the bus and instead of choosing the seat with the African- American, time and time again people sit elsewhere. Little things like that define racism.
Summary of Lessons, Activities, and Reactions
The next five subsections are focused on the lessons taught in class and the students’ reactions to those lessons.28
Racism ends forever.
Landline TV produced a satirical video in 2008 claiming that racism ended when America elected a Black president. The joke in the video is that because racism is over, the KKK has no purpose, and so they became a bird-watching group. I showed the video to open class discussion on whether racism still exists. In each of my four classes, at least one student asked if the video was real. One student acknowledged that the video was fake, but he still did not understand the point of the satire. He said, “Even though it was fake, I disagree with the KKK/Bird Watchers video. There is still racism and there will always be racism.”
As I showed the video, some students appeared reluctant to laugh. Perhaps they did not think it was funny, or perhaps they did not know if it was real. Immediately after the video, I pretended not to know if the video was real and let the class figure it out. It did not take the class long to come to the correct conclusion, however, one student later remarked, “When I saw the bird watching clip about the KKK my first thought was, are people really that naïve?”
Before I showed the video, while students were writing about prejudice and discrimination in their journals, one student turned around and asked me if the KKK was still around. I said yes. I laughed to myself because I knew I would be showing the birdwatching video later in class. One objective of the Racism 2.0 unit was to get students to recognize racism in other ways besides obvious, overt racism (such as the KKK). Numerous students referenced the video in their final reflection, not just for the humor, but for the realization that racism does not disappear overnight.
Students’ reactions to statistics.29
One common response in the reflections was an eye-opening reaction to statistics I shared in class. The statistics, gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau, indicate that Black people are more likely to be poor, less likely to go to college, more likely to be unemployed, and are more likely to be in jail. “The statistics were definitely a ‘wow, holy crap’ moment for me,” one student said. “Especially the statistics for people in jail. They made me wonder why.” Another student said, “Now that we have talked about it [the statistics], it has really opened my eyes to see all of the racism that is going on.”
I gave these statistics at the end of a class period and asked the students to go home and brainstorm some possible explanations for these statistics. The next day they did not have any solid answers (because these are difficult questions), but they did have some interesting ideas. They made correlations between the different statistics and a few suggested that education could fix everything. Their claim was that those who went to college were less likely to be poor, or unemployed, or to end up in jail.
“So why doesn’t everyone just go to college?” I asked. To which one student replied, “Because they’re in jail.” To which another student replied, “Because they were too poor, so they had to steal.” They expected me to have the answers and I told them I did not have them. Nobody said anything about Black people being inherently different or bad or lazy, which one might infer if they were to believe only the disparate statistics.
Do I look suspicious?
There is one concrete example of racism in the book Monster. The protagonist’s lawyer says to him that many of the jurors have made up their minds, even if they are unaware of it. “You’re young, you’re Black, and you’re on trial. What else do they need to know?” We talked about whether or not this means that everyone on the jury is racist. 30
One student said, “They might not be doing it on purpose. He just looks like what they think a criminal would look like.”
This subconscious judgment and unfair treatment is one manifestation of Racism 2.0. To illustrate this manifestation, we read about and discussed Rick Reilly’s article about DWB (Driving While Black), the Trayvon Martin case, a verse from Jay-Z’s 99 Problems, and a TV episode of What Would You Do?, where the show’s producers set up a hidden camera to see how people reacted to two bike thieves (one who is Black and one who is White).
Students enjoyed these real-life examples because they did not just exist in a book we were reading. These examples led to better discussions than the book, statistics, or abstract theories about racism. These examples gave students concrete topics to point to and agree or disagree with. Most students used these examples to support their understanding of Racism 2.0 and its existence today. “I have always known that racism still exists.” She continues, “Learning about racism 2.0 showed me how. Small things, White privilege, and racial profiling. We are more racist than I had previously thought.”
Another student said, “I had always thought of racism as the hoses, and separate bathrooms, and separate drinking fountains and everything else in the sixties. I never realized how bad it still is today.” She continued, however, on a path I had not expected. “Sometimes I think Black people bring it upon themselves. Wearing their gangster clothes and stuff. Maybe if they dressed in nice clothes, and no hats tipped to the side they would get more respect.”
Resistance to the material.31
I noticed many forms of resistance from my students, similar to the resistance mentioned in several different studies involving college students (Pimentel, 2010; Heinze, 2008; St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010). Resistance is not necessarily a negative thing, since I wanted students to wrestle with some of the material. One student was clearly trying to figure things out for herself, as the following quote illustrates:
But when we got into the racism 2.0 stuff, that’s stuff I’ve never thought about or been taught. But I don’t know if I’m sold on it. I’m not sure. I think a lot of people are still racist, but I don’t think everyone is. I think as White people we try so hard not to be racist sometimes. Like if we truly didn’t see color, then why would we treat them any different than White people? Why would we give them special treatment? I defiantly [sic] think racism is still a problem, but I don’t know why teachers beat it into our heads so much.
Several students felt as if the material was attacking White people, which made them angry, defensive, or guilty. One student said, “It’s not just us. We always say how we were so rude to them and still are. But they are rude to us too. That’s what I don’t get.” Another student said that he liked talking about racism 2.0, even though he “didn’t agree with 80 percent of it.” His response:
The way I see it, racism goes both ways and it’s only recognized in one direction. What pisses me off is if I’m applying for college and there is a Black guy with identical qualifications he gets in over me. That’s not equality, that’s racism. I believe in equality.
Many White students talked about their own Whiteness. This often made them ashamed or angry. One student said, “It is so infuriating that people would do that and 32
that since I am also White I could be associated with them. I never want to be like that.” Another student talked about how uncomfortable she was throughout the unit, not because of how she feels about people of color, but how she felt about herself, which is illustrated in the following response:
It’s because my very own race is doing this. It’s my race doing stupid things. I felt almost embarrassed. I felt guilty because I am so privileged. It makes me wonder do colored people think of me as just another White person? Am I just another White?
The classroom as a safe space.
I tried to create what Tatum (1992) calls a "safe space," in order for students to feel comfortable enough to explore these difficult, emotional issues. In their final reflections, many students talked about the classroom and how they felt comfortable. However, there were some who still did not feel comfortable. There were some who disagreed with the Racism 2.0 material in their papers, but never felt comfortable enough to share those feelings in our class discussions. One student said, “I am going to be honest when I say that I did feel uncomfortable at some times while talking about this. But that discomfort has made me stronger.”
As I read the student reflections, I started to feel like students thought if they were uncomfortable, that meant they were racist or something. It sounded like they were afraid to admit if they were uncomfortable. One student said, “There wasn’t any point where I felt uncomfortable. But it was kind of weird, I feel like there were a lot of kids in this class that felt uncomfortable.”33
Jimmy, who is Asian, shared his discomfort when he said, “This unit was a little uncomfortable only because I am part of the minority…it wasn’t like horribly uncomfortable, but it was enough that it was kind of awkward being here while we talked about it.”
Shannon, a White female, thought our discussions could have gone even further when she said:
I feel like we focused so much on the well-known racism. Most kids only have one perspective on these issues. They don’t think about things. We should address things like discrimination against gays, women, etc. It may be awkward to talk about in class, but that’s just because people don’t want to address the discrimination that’s going on today because they are embarrassed.
Limitations
The majority of the data I analyzed came from student writing (surveys, journals, and reflections). I kept a personal journal of my own feelings and impressions and tried to observe students’ behaviors in class. This was more difficult than I expected. When looking for patterns of resistance, it was difficult to determine whether students were acting strange because of the material or because they are teenagers. For instance, several students put their heads down, but high school students frequently put their heads down. It is difficult to determine if students are reacting to the material or if they are just tired or bored.
Most of my journal entries where I noticed student behavior were inconclusive. For example, one series of journal entries was written about Michelle, the only Black girl in my class. “I don’t know if she likes me or not. I can’t tell if she’s offended or 34
disinterested or what.” It was difficult to determine what my students were thinking based on observations alone.
The students’ written responses provided a more accurate reflection of their feelings than my observations did. I could probably imagine the discomfort that a White student who sat in front of a Black student might feel, but it was not until I read his reflection that I knew for sure:
I felt a little bit uncomfortable because I sit next to Michael. Not because he is Black, but because I couldn’t help but to imagine myself in his shoes, how uncomfortable it would be if I was one of only five people of my race at school.
Summary
During the unit on Racism 2.0, I included multiple voices to get an accurate picture of my students’ experiences, as well as my own experience as the teacher. I used a personal journal to capture my feelings and observations throughout the two-week unit, and analyzed students’ responses to survey questions and journal prompts. I summarized students’ definitions of racism and whether or not they believed racism is still a problem. I described the lessons and activities done in class and the students’ reactions to the material, attempting to capture their overall comfort level in the class and any resistance they displayed to the material.35
Chapter Five Discussion
This final chapter includes my interpretation of the results of the study. Within my discussion of the findings, I address the research questions I introduced in chapter one. Also, I relate the findings to the existing literature and I provide recommendations for future teachers interested in introducing Racism 2.0 material to their students. The chapter ends with an acknowledgement of the limitations of the study and recommendations for further research.
Introducing the Material
The results from the online survey fell in line with much of the existing research on multicultural education (McIntosh, 1988; Tatum, 1992; Lawrence & Tatum, 1998; Heinze, 2008). Many students only recognized racism in individual acts, not as a system of advantage based on race. They used the terms prejudice and racism interchangeably. Because their definitions of racism included only obvious, individual acts (Racism 1.0), many students considered racism to be a problem of the past. After we discussed the more subtle manifestations of racism (Racism 2.0), students recognized how prevalent of a problem racism still is in America.
Many students were uncomfortable talking about race in class, specifically their own Whiteness. Students listed benefits and privileges that White people receive and we went through 26 privileges determined by McIntosh (1988). This was the first that many students had heard of White Privilege. After we watched an episode of “What Would You Do?” which gives a visual example of White Privilege, students finally seemed to feel comfortable talking about White Privilege. Also, talking about other examples of 36
privilege (gender, age, religion, sexual orientation) helped students understand the concept.
The Students
My first research question was determining how the demographics of both the teacher and the students impacted the teaching and learning of Racism 2.0. Most of the existing research involves college students as participants (Jost, Whitfield, & Jost, 2005; Denevi & Pastan, 2006; Heinze, 2008; Hughes, 2008; Pimentel, 2010; Ford & Quinn, 2010). I wanted to know if the material could be introduced earlier. Although some of my high school students showed resistance to the material, college students showed resistance to the material as well (Heinze, 2008; Pimentel, 2010; St. Clair & Kishimoto, 2010). Many of my high school students showed great insight into anti-racist thinking and showed tremendous understanding of the material. I did not go as deeply into the material as many of the college studies I found, but I do think high school students are ready to be introduced to Racism 2.0 ideas.
Teaching predominantly White students about race is different than teaching a more diverse group of students. It is not any easier necessarily, just different. A class of White students has more of a shared experience with each other, so it is easier to relate to students as a whole. However, fewer students have personal experiences with racism, which makes the existence of racism more abstract in some students’ eyes.
The Teacher
My second research question focused on ways in which a White teacher can engage in meaningful discussions about race with White students. It was important to use myself as a model for my White students. I shared my own frustrations and experiences, 37
which made the students more comfortable as well. I admitted that I am still figuring out things about race, which put me on their level as a learner of this difficult material. I shared my own thoughts of bias and prejudice and did not pretend to be perfect or above racism. I admitted that unlearning racism is a life-long journey that takes years and years to complete.
Teaching about race is typically easier for a White teacher compared to a person of color (Heinze, 2008). In class, we discussed different manifestations of privilege, including race, gender, age, religion, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and ability. We briefly discussed advantages associated with each group and I shared my own information as an example. Because I am generally on the advantaged side of each category (White, male, middle-aged, Christian, middle-class, heterosexual, and able-bodied), I have nothing to gain, so to speak, from fighting against the status quo. Several students asked why I cared so much about race. I imagine that if I were a person of color, they would not ask that question. Perhaps they would just assume that I had my own personal agenda for teaching Racism 2.0 material.
Implications for Teaching
There were two moments that stood out during the unit on Racism 2.0, and both involved students of color. One experience was when my former student, Joe, showed up to share his own racial profiling story in front of the class. The second experience involved Carl, a student from California who joined my class midway through the semester. These experiences lead into my third and final research question, which was figuring out how my experience teaching this material can inform other teachers interested in teaching Racism 2.0 material. These were two of the most powerful 38
experiences during the unit and they will likely not happen next year when I teach this same material. This illustrates how difficult it is to prescribe an exact curriculum to teach this material. Each school is different, each class is different, and therefore each group of discussions will likely be different.
There are, however, some recommendations I can make to teachers thinking about introducing Racism 2.0 material in their classrooms. These recommendations come from my own experience teaching and my research on the subject. The most important thing I tried to do in my classroom was be real with the students. I voiced my own difficulties in thinking about race and discussing it with other people. I shared personal experiences and experiences my friends have had.
In addition to trying to be real and honest with my students, I provided them with interesting material to think about. I included current, relevant examples that made the content come alive for the students. American schools teach the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, but leave many students believing racism is over (Loewen, 1995). I taught using different media, such as songs, television shows, movies, YouTube videos, statistics, and news reports. This is more effective than teaching abstract theories about racism from an academic article or textbook. Showing video clips in class provided a way for students to distance themselves from the topics discussed (Pimentel, 2010). Students really connected to the clips from the television show, “What Would You Do?” and the clips from the movie Freedom Writers. These video clips allowed students more freedom to share thoughts in class because they were not limited to talking about their own experience.39
I have learned that not everyone will appreciate the message you are trying to share. Many students will become angry or defensive. Several years ago, while discussing why certain groups of people might resort to crime, a student called out, “Why don’t they just get a job?” which left me feeling very angry and frustrated. I wanted to put this student in his place for showing such arrogance, but I did not. In the years since this experience, I have realized that each student will encounter this material from a different point of view, and I actually came to appreciate this comment. At least this particular student felt comfortable enough to voice his question and his opinion. If I had attacked this student, it could have negatively impacted the safe space I was trying to create in my classroom. Resistance is not necessarily a negative thing. It is often merely a stage students go through as they learn to understand the difficult Racism 2.0 material.
I have become content to think of this Racism 2.0 unit as just an introduction to the material. The more I learn about the concepts of power, privilege, and racism, the more I want to share with my students. However, too much information at once can overwhelm anyone, especially considering that my students are sophomores in high school. I feel confident that most students who were in my class appreciated the message and understood what I was trying to get across. They may not fully agree with everything that was presented, but at least they are familiar with it. And if they ever encounter the information again, whether it is in college or elsewhere, they will be that much more likely to accept the material then.
Limitations
Some may argue that a quantitative research method offers more reliability and validity than a qualitative study, especially an autoethnography. One of the criticisms 40
against the authoethnography research method is the ability for the researcher to be objective. I tried to offer an honest reflection in my own journal entries, but my own bias to the material is difficult to remove. I kept a personal journal of my own feelings and impressions and tried to observe students’ behaviors in class. This was more difficult than I expected. When looking for patterns of resistance, it was difficult to determine whether students were acting strange because of the material or because they are teenagers. I am unable to know what is causing certain student behaviors. Their written responses were much more reliable measures than the observations I did in class.
Still, one major limitation when dealing with a topic such as racism is determining the true feelings of any particular student. Even when a student writes in his journal, is he being honest, or is he just writing what he thinks he is supposed to say? Students were more likely to share their true feelings in a reflection than they were in a class discussion.
Finally, what worked in my classroom may not work in every classroom. There are too many variables at play to predict how effective this curriculum would be if replicated in another classroom. This autoethnography was meant only to be one example of the implementation of Racism 2.0 material in a high school classroom.
Recommendations for Further Research
No matter at what level, high school or college, more teachers need to include Racism 2.0 material into their curriculum. There is a need for more research of Racism 2.0 material being introduced at the high school level. This study features a White teacher introducing the content to mostly White students. Further research is needed for different demographics. How would the presentation of the material change if the teacher were a person of color? How would the presentation of the material change if the student 41
population were more diverse? Could a teacher go further into the material if it were a class full of high school seniors instead of a class full of high school sophomores? Also, this study involves the material being introduced in an English class. Perhaps another content area would be more appropriate, such as history or sociology.
Conclusion
The topic of race is complex and requires a commitment in order to dismantle the system of racism that exists. The process of unlearning racism must continue throughout our lives (Lawrence & Tatum, 1998; Denevi & Pastan, 2006). Most students will not change their thinking in one course, whether that course is taken in high school or college. This study has proven to me how important it is to introduce these concepts to young people as they move on to college. I know some of my students did not buy in to everything presented to them. Also, I know some students may never encounter this material again. However, to the students who may encounter these concepts again, I believe my class has given them a proper introduction, and they will be that much more likely to understand and accept this difficult material then.42
References
Catlin, J. (2008). Black like me: a shared ethnography. Journal of Urban Learning Teaching and Research, 4, 13-22.
Denevi, E. & Pastan, N. (2006). Helping whites develop anti-racist identities: Overcoming their resistance to fighting racism. Multicultural Education, 14(2), 70-73.
Ford, T. & Quinn, L. (2010). First year teacher education candidates: What are their perceptions about multicultural education? Multicultural Education, 17(4), 18-24.
Gershon, W., Bilinovich, C. & Peel, A. (2010). Race, social studies content, and pedagogy: wrestling through discomfort together. Canadian Social Studies, 44(1), 29-37.
Heinze, P. (2008). Let’s talk about race, baby: How a white professor teaches white students about white privilege & racism. Multicultural Education, 16(1), 2-11.
Hughes, S. (2008). Maggie and me: A black professor and a white urban school teacher connect autoethnography to critical race pedagogy. Educational Foundations, 22(3), 73-95.
Jost, M., Whitfield, E. & Jost, M. (2005). When the rules are fair but the game isn't. Multicultural Education, 13(1),14.
Landt, S. (2007). Weaving multicultural literature into middle school curricula. Middle School Journal, 39(2), 19-24.
Lawrence, S. & Tatum, B. (1998). White racial identity and anti-racist education: A catalyst for change. Beyond heroes and holidays: A practical guide to k-12 anti-racist multicultural education and staff development. Washington, DC, 45-51.43
Liu, A. (2011). Unraveling the Myth of Meritocracy within the Context of US Higher Education. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning, (62)4, 383-397.
Loewen, J. (1995). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got wrong. New York, NY: New York Press.
McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women’s studies. Wellesley, MA: Center for Research on Women.
McNamee, S. & Miller R. (2004). The meritocracy myth. Sociation Today 2(1).
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Nicholson, B. (2003). Beyond jefferson: The rhetoric of meritocracy and the funding of public education. Educational Foundations, 17(1), 21-40.
Pappas, G. & Tremblay, C. (2010). Meritocracy the great american myth? A look at gatekeeping in american higher education. College and University (86)1. 28-34.
Pimentel, C. (2010). Critical race talk in teacher education through movie analysis: From stand and deliver to freedom writers. Multicultural Education, 17(3), 51-56.
Souto-Manning, M. (2011). Playing with Power and Privilege: Theatre Games in Teacher Education. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, (27)6, 997-1007.44
St. Clair, D. & Kishimoto, K. (2010). Decolonizing Teaching: A Cross-Curricular and Collaborative Model for Teaching about Race in the University. Multicultural Education, 18(1), 18-24.
Tatum, B. (1992). Talking about race, learning about racism: The application of racial identity development theory in the classroom. Harvard Educational Review, 62, 1-24.
Tatum, B. (1997). Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books.
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Wall, S. (2006). An autoethnography on learning about autoethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(2), Article 9. Retrieved [December 3, 2011] from http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/5_2/html/wall.htm
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IRB Approval
Kyle Nelson
IRB Approval #00898 - "Racism 2.0 in a High School Classroom" 1 message
Nancy Bartlett
Tue, May 8, 2012 at 4:25 PM
To: "knelson@alpinedistrict.org"
Cc: Maureen Andrade
May 8, 2012
Mr. Nelson:
You recently submitted for Institutional Review Board review a student research proposal entitled, “Racism 2.0 in a High School Classroom.” Your study has been assigned the following IRB tracking number: #00898.
Based on the information provided on the application, and the adjustments you made at the request of the IRB, your research proposal appears to pose “minimal” risks to human subjects and, therefore, meets the Federal criteria for an “expedited” review.
You herein have approval from UVU's IRB to begin your research. This approval is good until April 11, 2013 (365 days from the date of approval). After this date, you will no longer be authorized to access and analyze existing data unless you complete and submit a request for continuing status form. Multiple year studies must reviewed and approved annually by the full IRB.
To ensure that individuals and organizations involved in your study are aware that you have received IRB approval, please use the IRB tracking numbers above on all documents and communications associated with this project as identification of IRB authorization (i.e., IRB Approval #00898).
Please notify Nancy L. Bartlett, the IRB Administrator, at (801) 863-8156, BA203d, of any changes made in the instruments, consent form, or research process, so the IRB can review and approve them before the change is implemented.
When you have completed your research, please notify the IRB. In keeping with Federal regulations, you must retain non-identifiable research data for a period of 3 46
years from the date of completion of the research.
If you have any questions, please let us know. We wish you well with your research!
Dr. Glendon Parker, Chair
Institutional Review Board
Utah Valley University
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Nancy L. Bartlett
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IRB and Post-Award Grant Administrator
Division of Planning, Budget, and Policy
Utah Valley University
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